Home At Last
by Wrabbit75
Summary: Refugee from an alternate timeline Earth, Samantha Nys finds herself rubbing elbows with the Tenchi gang. How will she cope? How will they? Rated T for now, but may increase to M later. OC
1. Chapter 1: First Impressions

Well, here goes. My first fanfic. Please be kind to me.

**Home At Last**

**Chapter 1: First Impressions**

Sitting on a cushion that seemed to float in mid-air, a small girl with a huge fountain of spiky red hair typed away happily on a smoky transparent keyboard. The smile on her face disappeared when what she was typing was rudely replaced by the appearance of a crab holding a banner that read "Spatial distortion detected Washu-chan". Bringing up the telemetry that had detected the anomaly brought the smile back and then some. "Well, well, well. This ought to be interesting." The maturity in her voice belied her youthful looks.

"What should be interesting Washu-san?" The voice from nowhere startled her even though she should be used to it by now. Looking over her left shoulder, Washu saw a blonde woman dressed in her usual summer attire.

"Mihoshi-san, what are you… how did…raaagh! Never mind. Where is everybody? We have an intruder on the premises." Washu looked at her as if skeptical if she could even manage that.

Mihoshi put her finger against her chin and looked lost in thought for a moment. "Hmmm. Let's see, Tenchi-sama is practicing with Ojii-san at the shrine, Ayeka-san is cleaning so she sent me to help out Sasami-chan in the kitchen, which reminds me. Are you coming out for lunch? Sasami-chan says it won't be long."

Washu grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "What about Ryoko? Where's Ryoko?"

Mihoshi smiled at her. "She's on her way to meet Tenchi-san after practice. Why?"

* * *

><p>On a warm summer day such as this, any breeze is welcome. But this strong gust that popped out of nowhere made the small hairs on the back of Ryoko's neck stand up. In addition to the wind, there was a strange static discharge that didn't quite feel right by her reckoning. Sitting up, she used her vantage point on top of the red Tori'i that stood in front of the steps that led to the shrine.<p>

She could spy nothing that seemed out of place, but the feeling would not go away. Ryoko was about to teleport over to the shrine itself to make sure that nothing had happened to Tenchi, when she saw a bright light in that direction. "Tenchi!"

* * *

><p>Tenchi felt these practices were just getting ridiculous lately. Perhaps Grandpa was losing it? <em>Okay, I can see the value of learning to fight while balanced on tiny blocks of wood stuck into the ground at odd angles. I can even understand standing under a waterfall wearing just a yukata in the dead of winter. But this? Juggling seven stones with a bokken while standing on red-hot coals? What's the point in that? When is something like this ever going to come up?<em>

So entranced was he with keeping the stones (not to mention his feet), moving that he almost missed the change in his grandfather's posture. "Ojii-san? What is it?" Unnoticed by Tenchi, the stones fell to the ground as he walked forward out of the coals.

The light glinted off Katsuhito's glasses as he adjusted them with his fingers. "Tenchi. Do you remember the lessons in preparedness that I taught you?" Immediately, Tenchi went into a battle stance.

With several loud bangs, a ball of lightning appeared some twenty feet off the ground. When it dissipated, it left behind a swirling cloud of dust and a woman dressed all in a black and red leather armor with white hair, in a semi-conscious state, unsupported in midair- right over Tenchi. The result was as predictable as it was inevitable. The woman fell onto Tenchi and they ended up in a heap in front of Katsuhito, who just shook his head and sighed.

With a groan, the woman pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Ugh. It's never been that bad before. I wonder why it was so unpleasant this time? I bet it was all that "white lightning" I had."

"How do you do Miss?" Katsuhito's voice startled her. Looking up, she saw his wizened face that had seen many hardships. Looking down, Katsuhito was immediately struck by her beauty. The waist length fall of white hair framed her face, and the leather armor did nothing to hide the overly generous proportions of her figure. "Would you mind getting off of my grandson?"

The woman looked down and saw that she was straddling the young man's abdomen with her hand firmly planted on his chest. Blushing fiercely, she removed her hand from its resting place. "Eep!" Tenchi appeared down for the count, his eyes swirling from the impact.

Neither got any further in their introductions, as that's when Ryoko finally arrived flying full tilt toward the mysterious woman sitting on top of her Tenchi. Letting loose a primal scream, Ryoko moved faster than either of them could react to. Slamming headfirst into the woman, Ryoko started throwing punches, but was surprised at the resistance on the first try. _A force field? Good, I won't have to hold back now. _

The other woman wasn't idle during all this however. Kneeing Ryoko hard in the gut, she turned the attack into a back flip, throwing her attacker off and simultaneously drew two handguns from hip holsters. Standing in a battle ready position, she scanned the bushes for any sign of the one who had attacked her. "Looking for me?"

Whirling around, she found Ryoko hovering above her, a sword of energy at the ready. "Who are you? Why did you attack me?"

Ryoko fumed at the woman. "Hey! That's my line! I'll teach you to attack my Tenchi!" Ryoko threw the sword at the woman, which became a bolt of energy and exploded where just moments earlier her victim had been standing. Ryoko threw bolt after bolt at the woman, but the stranger was too agile, and the few direct hits were absorbed by her force field.

The woman had emptied both her clips at Ryoko and the few shots that had hit didn't seem to bother her at all. Ryoko decided to try a different tack and grabbed the intruder, before teleporting over the lake next to the house. Letting go of her, Ryoko watched the forty-foot drop with satisfaction. She was surprised when the woman not only didn't fall, but also actually came level and glared at her, chest heaving in an effort to catch her breath. A mysterious wind seemingly sprang from nowhere to whip their hair around wildly. "Now, are you going to listen to what I have to say, or are we going to continue to bash each others heads in?"

"I for one would like to hear what you have to say." Looking to the side, the two combatants saw Washu standing on air next to them. The wind that assaulted their hair didn't seem to touch Washu's.

Noticing movement below them, the woman saw two other women on the ground, one of which was pointing a gun in her direction. She apparently knew when she was outgunned; for she carefully holstered her own spent weapons.

Ryoko looked shocked at the diminutive scientist. "But Washu, she attacked Tenchi!"

Washu looked over to the woman. "Well?"

She looked indignant. "That's not true! I wasn't attacking him. I uh… I sort of… fell on him."

Ryoko exploded. "Fell on him! You expect us to believe that?"

The woman looked angrily at Ryoko. "Well it's the truth! If you don't believe me, just go ask the old man. He saw the whole thing. He'll tell you it was an accident."

Washu flew between them. "Why don't we discuss this over lunch? Sasami-chan says it's ready." The last was aimed Ryoko's way. Ryoko humphed and flew down to the ground. "I'm sorry about that. She tends to fly off the handle with anything that concerns Tenchi. My name is Washu, but you may call me Washu-chan."

The woman looked over the small figure before her. "I'm Samantha, Samantha Nys."

Washu arched an eyebrow before smiling. "Well come on then. They're waiting on us." The pair flew down to the ground and was instantly greeted by a small crowd of women. Washu quieted them down and made the introductions. "Ryoko you already met, Samantha-san, this is Ayeka-dono," The purple haired girl made a small bow. "GP detective first class Mihoshi," The bubbly blonde nodded and holstered her pistol as her name was mentioned. "And the one hiding back there is Sasami-chan." The small girl could be seen hiding behind Ayeka's robes. "Everyone, this is Samantha. Oh, the last two are Katsuhito-dono and Tenchi-dono. In case you were wondering, Tenchi is the one you were lying on top of."

This last statement caused Samantha to blush furiously and stare at the ground as if something very interesting had just appeared there. The others were less than happy to hear this. Ayeka glared at the newcomer with her fists clenched to her sides so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Mihoshi looked surprised at Samantha before heading inside, oddly quiet.

"Pleased to meet you Samantha-san." Sasami came forward and bowed.

Samantha bowed in return. "Likewise." Sasami smiled up at her and grabbed her hand leading her inside.

"Come on everybody, lunch is getting cold." Sasami's upbeat demeanor immediately put Samantha at ease. Everyone gathered around the low table, waiting for the last two stragglers to wander in. Samantha blushed again when Tenchi and his grandfather walked in.

Samantha bowed as she sat on the floor in apology to Tenchi. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I hope that I didn't injure you."

"That's alright. I'm sure that you didn't do it on purpose." Tenchi's smile reassured Samantha that he really didn't hold it against her and caused her cheeks to color again slightly. His generosity however, did not go over to well with Ayeka nor Ryoko, who both looked a little miffed over the incident. Samantha was introduced again to the two Masakis, and lunch began.

As they ate, Samantha and Katsuhito related how the whole misunderstanding started, which soon had everyone in a better mood. "So Samantha, how and why did you come here?" Tenchi's question, while innocent enough, seemed to cast a darkness over the snow haired woman.

Samantha put her bowl of rice down and set her chopsticks down on top. "I came here with the help of a wormhole generator. As for why, I… I really don't think that it's a suitable subject for the dinner table. I'm sorry."

They all stared at her. "Samantha…" Sasami's big heart opened up to her in sympathy.

Samantha wiped at her face with the back of her hand. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to freshen up. Where's your bathroom?"

Mihoshi, ever cheerful, volunteered. "I'll show you. This way Samantha-san."

When they were sure that she was out of earshot, they all started talking at once. "Did you see that?" "She was crying." "I bet it was an act. She's probably here to try to take Tenchi away." Tenchi finally calmed them down.

"Now we don't know anything about her, so don't go leaping to conclusions. I want you all to treat her the same way you treat each other, understand?" Tenchi looked at them all in turn. Each one nodded or agreed, albeit, some more reluctantly than others. "As for why she's here, I'm sure that she'll tell us when she's ready." He looked at Washu. "This means you Washu. I know that your curiosity can get the better of you sometimes, so I want you to keep a tight rein on it, alright?"

Washu actually managed to look hurt by this. "Tenchi, I assure you that I will be the model of restraint."

* * *

><p>Samantha had just managed to reach the bathroom before the tears came. Turning on the sink to cover her sobs, she stood there trying to gather herself together. A few moments and many deep breaths later as well as some splashes to her face, she regained control once again. Samantha looked into the mirror above the sink and sighed at her appearance. Bloodshot eyes stared back at her, and she was mortified to see that there were still bits of foliage still clinging to her tangled mane. Pulling a broken comb with half the teeth missing from a pocket, she tried as best she could to make herself presentable. Deciding that there was nothing more to be done about it short of a hair salon, she settled for washing her face and hands in an effort to erase some of the weariness from her features.<p>

Seeing that there was nothing more to be done, Samantha turned the faucet off with a squeak. Taking one more deep, cleansing breath, she stepped out and almost ran over Mihoshi. "Whoa! Uh, Mihoshi-san was it? What were you doing there?"

Mihoshi beamed back at Samantha. "I was making sure that you didn't need anything. Everything OK?"

Samantha was a little taken aback by her seemingly eternal sunny disposition. "Err… yeah. Just fine. Thanks." She then stepped around the blonde woman without taking her eye off her, and walked back to the dining room. Mihoshi followed behind, still beaming.

Walking into a suddenly silent room, Samantha felt that she could guess what the topic of discussion had been. She bowed at the waist, intent on apologizing once again, but failed to notice Mihoshi right behind her who was focused on the food at the table. Mihoshi kept going, bumping into Samantha and causing both to tumble forward. Right toward Tenchi. Tenchi, being the gentleman he was raised to be, tried to catch both falling women and they all ended up in a pile on the floor.

Samantha opened her eyes to find herself in a lip lock with her host. Sitting up, she started apologizing profusely, her face as red as Washu's hair. "Oh God! I'm so sorry! I mean, I… that is…" Unable to come up with anything to say that couldn't be taken two ways, she took the easy way out and just shut up.

"Owie! By dose." Looking behind her to the source of the voice, Samantha saw Mihoshi with her face just inches from Tenchi's crotch, her nose a rosy hue. A strangled noise from the table attracted her attention. Turning back, she saw Sasami and Washu were doing their best not to break out laughing and seemed about to fail. Ryoko and Ayeka stood still as statues, looks of shock marring their features. The only sound to be heard was Katsuhito calmly taking another sip of his miso soup. Tenchi, for the second time today, was lying on the floor, eyes swirling.


	2. Chapter 2: Back Story

Something I forgot to mention in the first chapter. I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or the characters or settings therein, so please don't sue. I DO however own Samantha Nys, and you can't have her! She's mine, mine, mine, all mine! ^_^ Thank you all for reading, and thank you cyberimp6 for your kind words. Also, it should be noted that this story will be following the OVA version of the show exclusively. This does mean Noike will be showing up, so fairly warned, be thee, says I.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Back Story<strong>

"You don't have to tell us until you're ready." Tenchi shifted around uncomfortably on the couch, shifting the ice pack on his lap to ease the pain. Ryoko and Ayeka fussed over him like mother hens. Washu had said that he'll be fine, but they were enjoying being able to take care of him like this. Mihoshi had been banished to the armchair opposite Samantha, far from Tenchi with Washu to watch over her.

Sasami brought in a tray of tea, giving one to all before sitting down on the couch close to Samantha. "No, you all have been so kind to me, I owe it to you to tell you just who you have invited into your home." Samantha was surprised by the sudden appearance of a microphone in front of her face. Looking up the arm that held it, she saw Washu smiling down at her.

"Just speak clearly into the mic, please." Washu looked excited about all of this.

"Washu…" Tenchi gave an exasperated sigh.

With a wry smile, Samantha pushed the microphone back a few inches. "It's all right. I don't mind. Though you all may change your minds about me once you hear my story." Ayeka and Ryoko gave each other worried glances and clung tighter to Tenchi. Sighing deeply, Samantha leaned back. "Where to begin? Well, first off, I'm not from your world. I come from a parallel dimension much more cutthroat than this one apparently. Where I'm from, corporations rule and governments are nothing more than their lapdogs. Oh, for appearances sake, the government still makes a show of throwing it's power around, but as long as they don't do anything overtly illegal, the corporations can do pretty much as they please. I'm sure that you've heard the expression 'dog eat dog'? Well there it happens on all levels of society. The present generation is built on the bones of the previous. In some places, police are so corrupt, that they only protect those that have the money to pay them and have been reformed into corporations. In some areas, the crime is so bad, that they have sealed it off from the rest of the population and are used as dumping grounds for the worst of criminals. Instead of eliminating them as planned, these 'Zero Law Enforcement Zones' as they are called, only eliminate the weakest, making the strong stronger."

"How awful." Mihoshi's wide eyes shimmered with fear and sadness. Being an officer herself, she was aware of the corruption inherent with governments and all their agencies, but at least it wasn't as bad as Samantha had portrayed her world.

Sasami piped up. "No wonder you wanted to escape from there."

Samantha looked at her, an infinite sadness in her eyes. "You misunderstand. I didn't escape. I'm trying to get back there. But, I'm getting ahead of myself." They all looked shocked, even Washu. "I was… 'born' if you could call it that, in a corporation. The product of an illegal cloning of the world's most powerful stable Psychokinetic, Shion Nys." Samantha actually looked a little proud at the mention of the name. "I was brought up to be a pliable weapon to be used against other corporations in a sort of 'cold war'. When I didn't develop as fast as they liked, I was slated for destruction and recycling. Luckily, with the help of my minder, Haruka-neesan, I was able to escape. I found out later, that it was actually a calculated maneuver by the corporation that she had ruined, by helping me.

"During my trip from Japan to Neo York, I rescued two young girls who were, well, let's just say that they were in desperate need of rescuing." Samantha swallowed hard as the tears came unbidden again. "Once in Neo York, we had to go live in the Zero Zone due to a lack of funds. Life there was hard, but made bearable through the few friends that I…" Her voice cracked a bit here. Taking a swallow of tea, she continued. "Excuse me. It was here that I finally grew into my powers and once more became desirable to my former owners.

"They sent me on a bogus mission to 'rescue' a scientist from a rival corp. It went pretty much as planned, with a minimum of casualties, but when I got to the drop off point, they tried to recapture me. To make a long story short, they nearly succeeded. It was only the timely intervention of Shion that spared me a fate much worse than death.

"Well after that, I hooked up with a group of like-minded people, trying to make life bearable for as many people as possible. I like to think that we made a difference, but with the odds so stacked against you, it's often hard to tell." Samantha gave a rueful smile. "During a particularly dangerous mission, we had stopped a madman, but at a great cost. In order to stop him, we had to change the very nature of our world. I won't pretend to know how, but through time travel, we had prevented the actions that turned our world into the nightmare that it was. As a consequence, we were all "reborn". At least, that's the way they saw it. I wasn't so sure. I did some checking, asked some big brains, and discovered that there were two schools of thought on what had happened. One agreed with my friends. The other, said that what we did was create an alternate reality where our world never happened which we now resided in." Washu looked thoughtful.

"That got me thinking. If all we did was create a parallel world, what happened to everyone we had left behind? More to the point, what became of my friends back there? Were they alright? Did some sort of corporate war destroy the world? All these thoughts and more besides bothered me. I became obsessed with getting back to horror I thought I had left forever. I also realized something about myself. Something frightening. I came to recognize that I am a killer. It's the only thing I know how to do, and I'm good at it. Really good. It was scary how easily my guns came to hand. But the thing that really struck me was the smell. The smell of blood mixed with cordite had become so common, that I could even smell it after several showers. I just couldn't get rid of it no matter what I tried. That was about the time that I noticed the looks people gave us. People we tried to save seemed just as afraid of us as they were of the criminals. I had looked into the abyss, and the abyss looked back, gleefully showing me the monster I had become." Samantha gazed into her hands; sure she could see the blood that stained them.

"I found a scientist who was willing to let me test an experimental wormhole generator. By then, I didn't care about the risks. Any danger was worth finding my home. So I began my long journey across the multiverse to find where I belonged. The last world I left behind was a crazy alternate reality where the South was still fighting the first American Civil War, but with modern-day weaponry. Eventually, I wound up here. The rest, you know. I'm just tired. So… very …" Samantha never finished, for she had fallen asleep in mid-sentence.

Everyone stared at her with a mixture of horror and pity. Ayeka started to say something, but Washu stopped her, pointing toward the slumbering woman. Typing on her suddenly present keyboard, she teleported Samantha to an empty bedroom. Immediately, Ayeka turned to Tenchi. "Tenchi-sama, surely you can't mean to let a… a monster like her to stay under your roof? She said it herself. She's a killer. What if she were to come after you, or Sasami-chan next?" She held onto her sister as if she were in mortal danger now.

"I think I know how she feels." Everyone turned to Ryoko. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about all those thousands that I…" _Damn you Kagato._ Washu laid a comforting hand on Ryoko's shoulder. Through the link they shared, she could feel love and support flowing to her, fighting back the feelings of helplessness and guilt.

Ayeka continued her argument. "But she doesn't even have the excuse that she was under someone else's control. She did all this all on her own. She consciously made the choice to kill on those occasions."

Washu spoke up. "Given the same circumstances, could any of us honestly say that we would act differently? Faced with the choice of kill or be killed, would you really just lie down and die? I think that we have all proven otherwise, every last one of us."

Mihoshi was the next to give her opinion. "We've all done things that we're not proud of. Things we're sure that if our friends found out about, they wouldn't want to be our friends anymore." She looked down at her twiddling thumbs so she wouldn't have to meet anyone's eyes.

Ayeka turned to Washu in exasperation. "Washu-san, surely you must realize how dangerous it is to have her around."

Washu looked thoughtful. "It sounds to me like she is the product of her environment rather than genetics. And a different environment can change a person's mind and attitude. As for the danger, all of us are extremely dangerous on some level. I think we should trust her until she does something to threaten us. If nobody gave us second chances, well… I know that I wouldn't be here today."

Ayeka looked defeated. Glancing down, she asked Sasami her opinion. "What do you think Sasami-chan?"

Sasami looked up into Ayeka's burgundy eyes. "I think she's a very sad person, who needs someone to help her. I don't think that I could bear what she has alone." She looked at the chair formerly occupied by the subject of their conversation wearing a faraway expression.

It always worried Ayeka when she did that. It's as if there were some horrible burden that she bore alone. Something that she dared not tell anyone about. She looked to Tenchi. She did the only thing she felt that she could do. She hugged Sasami tightly to her in a silent sign of support. "Well it appears as though everyone here is in agreement. Whatever you want to do Tenchi-sama, we're behind you."

Tenchi appeared lost in thought for a moment. "It looks to me that she needs a place to call home." He looked at all the gathered women. "I've never turned away a person in need before, I won't start now."

Sasami leaped into his arms, giving him a big hug. "Tenchi-niichan…" She shed a few tears of joy.

Tenchi looked to Washu. "Washu-san, could you look her over, make sure that she's not injured or anything?"

Washu looked at Tenchi in confusion. "I'm sorry, who did you want to check over our guest?"

Tenchi wore a bemused look. "I'm sorry. Washu-chan, would you mind?"

Washu suddenly wore a huge grin. "It would be my pleasure Tenchi my dear. And after I'm done with her, perhaps you would care for a thorough exam as well?" Tenchi just wore a silly embarrassed expression as the other women all yelled at Washu for her suggestion.

* * *

><p>Samantha was floating on a cloud, or was it a marshmallow? She felt a prick on her arm, but looking there didn't reveal the source of pain. She felt something withdraw from her arm and realized she was looking at a ceiling. Glancing to her left, she saw Washu in a nurse's uniform, peering at a syringe of what could only be blood. "What's the verdict doc?"<p>

Washu glanced down at her patient. "Hmm? I couldn't find any injuries, which is remarkable after a fight with Ryoko. I'll have to run some tests on this sample to see if there are any diseases. But considering your peak physical condition, I doubt I'll find anything."

Samantha nodded. "I'm a fast healer. Listen, I could really do with a bath. Would it be alright if I…"

Washu began to put away all her equipment in a Gladstone bag. "Sure, we have an onsen. Take your time. The man of the house won't be back for hours, so go ahead and take a nice long soak." After informing her how to find it, she left.

Samantha was impressed by the whole set up. The floating boulder that served as the foundation for the hot spring was large enough to support not only several hot tubs, but also a large hot spring. The dome overhead meant that it could be enjoyed even in the dead of winter. After removing her armorcloth bodysuit with some difficulty, she had grabbed a towel and walked toward the water when the sight stunned her. "Are you going to stand there gaping, or are you going to get in?"

Samantha was startled out of her amazement by Ryoko's voice. Turning to her left, she saw the woman, sitting on the wooden decking, shampooing her hair. Walking over, she kneeled down beside her and began to work on washing and disentangling her own neglected locks. Pouring a generous amount of shampoo, she began to lather up as she tried to come up with something to say. _What do you say to someone who just this morning tried to kill you?_ She was surprised when Ryoko was the first to speak. "I want to apologize about what happened earlier. I saw you on top of Tenchi, and immediately assumed the worst. Sorry."

Samantha looked over and saw sincerity in Ryoko's face. "It's alright. Were I in your position, I might have assumed the same." Samantha half-smiled at her and was glad to see it returned. They finished bathing in a more comfortable silence and slipped into the water together. "Oooohhh. That feels fantastic!"

After a few minutes, Ryoko spoke. "You and I aren't so very different."

Samantha looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"

"What you said earlier. About all the people you… you know." Ryoko appeared hesitant, as if she hadn't fully accepted this aspect of her past. After a moment, Samantha seemed to catch her meaning and nodded. "We've both been considered monsters in our past. And perhaps we were, but I have learned something since living here. Even monsters don't deserve to be unhappy all the time. Occasionally, the cosmos will let everyone have a little happiness in their lives." Ryoko had a sad smile. "That's all I really wanted to say. I hope that we can be friends." Ryoko got out and dried off before teleporting out.

Samantha watched Ryoko's wet tracks slowly dry as she sat, deep in thought. When she saw the last disappear, she reclined with her eyes pointed skyward contemplatively. Slowly, her eyes closed and a small smile graced her face.

* * *

><p>A small hand shaking her shoulder awakened Samantha. Opening her steely gray eyes, she saw Sasami kneeling next to her on the deck. "I'm sorry to wake you, but dinner is ready."<p>

Yawning, she sat up and stretched. "Thank you Sasami-san. I must be more tired than I had thought." Samantha got out and dried herself, unaware that she still had an audience. Sasami's pink eyes widened when they saw the tall woman in all her glory. She was built along the same proportions as Mihoshi, but her taller stature made her measurements all the more impressive. Sasami was actually reminded of her mother for some reason. Samantha turned around looking for the young girl and spotted her near the water, looking down. "Is there anything I could borrow to wear? I really don't want to put on dirty clothes after such a nice bath."

Sasami blinked and recovered quickly. "I'll ask Mihoshi if she has any to spare." Sasami dashed off and returned shortly with a pile of folded clothes in hand. "Here you are."

Samantha took the clothes and flashed her a million-yen smile. "Thanks. I hope I'm not keeping everyone waiting."

Sasami replied as the guest dressed. "No, Mihoshi is just finishing up a report, so we have a few minutes." Samantha pulled the zipper on the pants and stretched her arms. Not having underclothing, she was forced to go without until later. This had the effect of bringing certain features to the viewer's attention, but couldn't be helped under the circumstances.

"Hmm, a little tight, but better than nothing. I'll have to thank Mihoshi later. Well let's go get some of that dinner." She said as they walked out together.

* * *

><p>Sasami and Samantha walked into the dining area and saw everyone gathered around the table with the addition of a new face. A man who bore a striking resemblance to Tenchi sat next to Katsuhito. Sasami introduced him as Noboyuki, Tenchi's father. "Well Tenchi, looks as though you are becoming even more popular with the ladies. Another beauty!" Samantha bowed with a blush as Tenchi gave an exasperated sigh.<p>

"It's not like that dad and you know it. Now please, stop embarrassing her." Tenchi threw him a look that made him quiet down, but failed utterly to remove the sly grin. The other women divided their glares between Noboyuki and Samantha. Ryoko gave a worried look to Samantha, now wishing that she had been clearer on her feelings for Tenchi to her. Washu had a concerned expression, as she looked at Ryoko wondering just what they had talked about in the onsen. She promised herself that she would go through the video records when the opportunity presented itself.

Dinner proceeded without incident with everybody making light conversation. Noboyuki had already been warned not to pry into Samantha's past and had been given a brief recap of her story. Halfway through the meal, Tenchi asked her the question that had been on everyone's minds since that afternoon. "Samantha, what are you going to do?"

She looked down into her bowl of rice as if to find the answer there. "I had planned on continuing my journey, but when I had checked on the generator, I found it broken. Smashed to bits." Ryoko hung her head in shame. "Don't worry about it Ryoko. It's not really your fault. Though I guess that my travels have come to an end. I just hope Yohko and Azusa will be all right without me. Ever since I found them, they've been somewhat… um, useless."

Washu cleared her throat. "I may not look it, but I am in actuality…" From nowhere, a fanfare played and Washu stood with a folding fan in each hand. The one in her left read 'Number one' and the one in her right read 'In The Universe' "The greatest scientific genius in the universe! Nya ha ha ha."

Samantha pointed at her and looked at the others. They all just nodded as if they had all heard this before. "You can fix it?"

Washu looked smugly at Samantha. "There doesn't exist a device that I can't fix! Though I would like for you to do a favor for me in return."

Samantha looked up at her with adoring eyes. "Anything! Just name it and it's yours!"

"I'd like to study your powers. I've rarely encountered one such as yours and I must know it's workings!" Washu had a dreamy expression with tears running down her face.

Samantha looked overjoyed. "Yes! A thousand times yes. I'm in your debt Washu-sama." She bowed to Washu, her forehead touching the floor.

Washu picked her head up off the floor. "Now, now just 'Washu-chan, the greatest genius in the universe' will suffice. No need for fancy titles here." Washu's smirk threatened to take in her ears.

The women breathed a collective sigh of relief. Tenchi smiled. "In the meantime, you can stay here. There's plenty of room, and you can relax before going." Ayeka's sour expression returned and Ryoko looked conflicted.

Samantha turned to the others. With tears in her eyes, she bowed to them all. "Thank you all. You've been so kind to me. I don't know how to repay you. If there's anything that I can do, just name it."

As a group, they protested her need to do anything for them. She insisted that she would find a way to make herself useful to them somehow. Ayeka began to feel bad about the thoughts she had been having concerning her. _Perhaps I have been unfair in my assessment of her. And Washu will have her on her way in a few days. I suppose that I can tolerate this situation until then. As long as she keeps her hands off of Tenchi-sama, we should get along fine. _Ayeka wouldn't admit it to herself, but she believed that Samantha was on par with Tsunami in terms of beauty. She didn't think that she could compete with two women that attractive.

Discussion turned to plans for tomorrow. "What would you like to do Samantha? Tomorrow's shopping day, and a few of us were going into town. Would you like to come?" Sasami's invitation piqued her interest, but other things weighed heavily on her mind.

"As much as I would enjoy that, I feel like all my muscle is turning to flab. I haven't had much opportunity to work out since starting my travels and that battle with Ryoko really took it out of me. If you're leaving in the afternoon, I'd love to go, but I really need to work out before I go to pot." Samantha looked hopefully at her.

Sasami looked excited. "That's alright. I wasn't planning on going until noon anyway."

"Perhaps you would like to join Tenchi and I for our morning workout, Nys-san" Katsuhito's offer shocked both Ryoko and Ayeka. They looked at each other and both silently vowed to make sure that nobody's libido got a workout.

Samantha nodded to him. "That's very kind of you sir. But please, call me Samantha. I feel like an old lady being addressed as Nys-san." He nodded in agreement. Her gaze lingered on her hosts a moment longer before she announced that she was retiring for the night. They wished each other a good night, and she returned to the room she had awoken in.

* * *

><p>AN: Psychokinesis is the power to manipulate the physical world around you through the power of your mind alone. Sometimes called telekinesis, this is a bit of a misnomer, in that telekinesis is simply moving objects, whereas psychokinesis covers a much broader range of powers. Samantha will show off these powers later on, and you'll see how they differ from the "Standard" (if such a word can be applied to it) psychokinesis of the Tenchi Muyo universe, which is why Washu is interested in studying Samantha.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Mistaken Notions

First off, the required stuff. I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of the characters portrayed in this fic aside from Samantha. She's all mine. If you want to use her, I can't stop you, but would appreciate you asking permission first.

cyberimp6 : Yeah, Ryoko sees a little of herself in Samantha, which makes her feel a little sympathetic towards her, but she's still worried about her making a play for Tenchi. As for Washu, it's nothing that she hasn't undergone previously... except for the restraining tentacles. Coming from Japan, she may not react well to anything with tentacles. But at least she's not wearing a schoolgirl uniform. :P

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Mistaken Notions<strong>

Samantha awoke with a start, wondering where she was. She sat up and quickly took in the darkened room. The semi-familiar surroundings brought back her most recent memories with a smile. Just thinking of the kindness the Masaki family had shown her so far felt like a warm quilt enveloping her. She looked at her watch, before remembering that it was smashed on the last dimension she visited, the LCD face forever dark. Samantha then glanced at the bedside clock which proudly glowed it's 4:23 at her.

She realized that she wasn't going to get any more useful sleeping done, and decided to get up and burn off some excess energy. As quietly as she could, Samantha got up, and began to pull on her armorcloth suit leaving the boots to be put on at the door. She crept down the stairs, wincing at every imagined sound she made. When she reached the bottom, she was startled when she nearly bowled over Washu's small form.

"Going somewhere?" she asked Samantha.

Samantha clutched at her heart in fright. "Gah! You really shouldn't do that." She said between gasps. "I was just going for a little flight. All that sleeping I did today seemed to recharge my batteries, and I just couldn't get back to sleep."

Washu replied, "Well, it is early in the morning and we are pretty far from any other houses, but be sure not to wander too far. Tenchi-dono is trying his hardest to keep this house and it's occupants out of the local media."

"No problem. I'll be sure to keep that in mind" Samantha smiled back, and then gave a little bow as she left the room.

Outside, Samantha gently lifted off the ground in a swirl of flying debris, before taking off like a shot straight up. Out of all her powers, she enjoyed flying the most. There was something freeing about throwing off the shackles of gravity and moving wherever your fancy struck.

At almost a half mile up, Samantha slowed down and let the early morning winds push her where they will. As she neared the lake and the especially large tree near it, she noticed movement in the dawning shadows. She stopped and scanned around, looking for the source. She spotted it again near the giant tree that she noticed was actually growing in shallow water, and was bound by traditional Shinto holy ropes and charms. Now that she had focused on the shape, she could see it was indeed humanoid, and appeared to be crouching near the roots of the tree.

Samantha maneuvered herself to come around behind the intruder and powered up a force bolt, ready to throw at the first sign of hostility. She floated down, quiet as death, and stopped about a dozen yards behind him. "Care to explain what you're doing there, or should I just start blasting now?"

The figure whipped around, a small, blue glowing shield of energy forming before him. Taking this as a hostile action, Samantha threw her force bolt, which rebounded off the shield back at her. Surprised at this move, she leaped back, letting the blast hit the water in front of her, soaking her.

Samantha furtively searched around for the opponent that was no longer by the tree, and spotted him falling from above, holding the shield before him like a weapon. In the gray light of dawn, she finally got a good look at his features.

* * *

><p>Tenchi walked the two hundred forty three steps to the shrine just as he did every morning at six-thirty. What was different today, was that he was not alone. Fighting back yawns, were Ryoko and Ayeka to either side of him. Finding neither hide nor hair of Samantha, he figured that she had gone on ahead of him, and left for the shrine. "Are you sure you two want to come? You look awfully tired."<p>

Indeed they look like they hadn't had a wink of sleep last night. "Of course Tenchi-sama. I'm Per- yawn –fectly well rested. You needn't trouble yourself over me." Ayeka's bloodshot eyes told another story. She had sat up most of the night thinking about herself and where she saw Tenchi and herself in the future. Logic dictated that she was the best choice as his wife. Who was better bred than her (of legal marrying age anyway)? Who offered the most financially stable of lives (again, of legal marrying age)? Who among those gathered here was the most demure (again, of leg-), wait a moment. Ayeka had reviewed all of the traits that she believed elevated her above the others and realized that there was only one area that she excelled Sasami. Tenchi-sama had only to wait for Sasami to grow up naturally, and then she would far surpass Ayeka in every way. Ayeka resolved to make Tenchi realize that _she_ is the most suitable one for him before that happened. Samantha didn't even enter the picture. She would be gone within a few days, a week or two at the most.

Ryoko got just as much sleep as Ayeka last night. "Yeah, Tenchi. We-yawn we're fine. Besides, I'm always up at this hour." Ryoko had done a lot of thinking as well. The subject of her ruminations however was of a more philosophical bent. _Samantha has confronted her dark side and accepted it. She's even managed to turn it into an advantage, using it as a focus to control itself. No truly cold-blooded killer would have held back the way I'm she was during our fight. She's underestimated her own integrity and I hope that she realizes it before despair swallows her whole._ Ryoko made a vow herself that night. She swore that no matter what happened, she wouldn't run from her past anymore. She also promised herself that her own dark side would never again hurt those she cared for, especially Tenchi.

They continued their climb in silence. As they approached the door to the shrine, they could hear distinctly feminine laughter coming from inside. As one, they quietly slid the shoji open and peeked inside. They saw Samantha, wearing a Miko outfit, sitting at the kotatsu with Yosho, his younger, and true form, drinking tea. "You're kidding! The entire ship in half? How did they escape?"

Yosho smiled as he sipped his tea. "Washu-san teleported them down. You should have seen it. The explosion was visible with the naked eye. Caused no end of trouble with the locals as you could imagine."

Samantha slapped her knee. "Oh, that is rich. It sounds like you all keep busy. It's a shame that I can't stay here. I think that I really could get to like it." She gave him a wistful smile.

He returned the smile. "Tenchi! Don't just stand there. Come in and bring the others with you."

Tenchi hated it when he did that. Gave no indication that he was aware of his presence, and then ordered him as if he knew all along. "Ojii-chan? How did…"

Ayeka interrupted him with a yell. "ONII-SAMA! I thought you wanted to keep your true appearance a secret?" She nodded over to Samantha who still sat at the table sipping her tea and appeared to try to give them privacy by ignoring them.

Katsuhito looked over at her. "Do you want to answer that, or should I?"

Samantha looked up with a smile. "I guess you've done enough explaining for today." Looking to the others, she began. "I awoke about four this morning. I guess the combination of the naps after lunch and in the onsen had recharged my batteries. Feeling the need to burn off some excess energy, I went for a little flight. As I was flying overhead, I noticed some movement near the big sacred tree. I flew in closer to see who it was, and I saw Katsu- I mean Yosho-dono seemingly talking to nobody. Not recognizing him of course, I readied a force bolt and told him to step away from the tree slowly. When he stepped into the light, I knew who he was right away. He explained about the tree and about his situation. We got to talking, and that's when you all showed up."

Samantha's story was concise, but seemed a little too abridged for Ayeka's liking_. For one thing, where did she find that get-up? It looked like the one that hung in Katsuhito's closet, the same one that once belonged to Tenchi's mother. If it was the same one, why was __she__ wearing it? She certainly didn't arrive with anything like that in her possession. That must mean that he gave it to her this morning, and if so, what were they doing that she needed to change clothes?_ Ayeka blushed at her line of thinking.

Katsuhito's voice rang through the small room, snapping her back to the present. "Well that's enough of that. Tenchi! You have practice to attend to." With a much softer tone, he turned to Samantha and held out his hand for her. "Samantha-san? Would you care to join us?"

Samantha accepted the proffered assistance. "Why, I would be delighted, thank you." Although she hardly needed the help and stood with the grace of a dancer, she accepted his hand.

The two walked out past the stunned trio into the courtyard. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka all looked at each other in surprise until Katsuhito's voice called from outside. "Tenchi!"

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><p>Samantha stretched for the fifth time in almost as many minutes, relishing in the wonderful exhaustion of a good workout. She had changed into attire more suitable to shopping than the shrine maiden outfit that Yosho had given her. He had said that it had belonged to his daughter, but he wanted her to have it. After carefully folding it away, she changed back into the clothes that Mihoshi had lent her. Pocketing the money that Washu had changed over for her, she rushed downstairs to find Sasami and Mihoshi waiting for her at the front entrance. Mihoshi asked, "Ready?"<p>

Samantha nodded. "Just let me put on my boots." Slipping them on, she quickly settled the pant leg cuffs around them. "Let's go." They then began the long walk to the nearest bus stop, chatting sociably. The bus ride to Kurashiki was fairly long and uneventful. Once in town, they immediately went to the clothing stores to try and build up Samantha's own wardrobe. The first thing she did was buy a dark red skirt and a loose white button up blouse as well as a pair of pumps and stockings to change into, promising Mihoshi that she would take care of her clothes as soon as they got home.

The shopping trip went on like that, with each of them trying on, then buying clothes or whatever struck their fancy. Samantha walked away from a vending machine, sipping on a soda and noticed Sasami peering in a storefront with her nose against the glass in disappointment. Coming up behind her, she saw the display case full of jewelry. "Whatcha looking at?"

Sasami looked up at her. "I was looking at that picture frame there."

Samantha looked to where she was pointing and saw a gilded frame designed to hold 8x10 photos lengthwise. It was decorated with intricate designs suitable for framing a painting by one of the old masters. Looking down, she saw a placard with the price and gave a low whistle. "Twenty-two thousand yen. Well I'll say this for you. You have expensive taste."

Sasami looked downcast. "It wasn't that much last time I came here. We all pooled our money together to buy that for Tenchi's birthday, but now we'll never get together enough in time."

Samantha did a little quick mental math. "How much are you short by?"

"We've saved fifteen thousand. And his birthday is next week." She looked crestfallen. "My contribution was to pick this out and bring it home."

Samantha gave Sasami's head a playful rub. "Let's see what I can do about that price, huh?" She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and gave her a wink.

* * *

><p>"Mihoshi, sporting a double-dip cone in one hand, and two more in the other, looked around until she spotted the jewelers that Sasami had said she would be at. As she crossed the street, she saw Sasami and Samantha walking out.<p>

They met in front of the store and Sasami showed them the frame. Mihoshi ooed and aahed. "Oh, it's so beautiful. The picture is going to look perfect in there."

Sasami blushed. "Well I couldn't have afforded it without-"

Samantha interrupted her. "Sasami-chan here sure can pick them, huh?" Sasami looked up at her, confusion plain on her face. She just smiled in return and held a finger to her lips.

* * *

><p>Back at the Masaki residence, since returning from Tenchi's practice, Ayeka had sat at the couch with the T.V. showing a soap opera, but she hardly paid it any mind. Instead, her thoughts were in disarray over the revelations from this morning. She felt that she could forgive her brother revealing his secret to her since she would be gone before she could reveal it to anyone. But Samantha had appeared to let her gaze linger on Yosho for longer than was necessary. Whatever her feelings for Samantha, she was glad that the newcomer didn't appear too interested in Tenchi.<p>

* * *

><p>Ryoko was floating on air, both figuratively and literally. Samantha didn't appear interested in Tenchi at all! That alone cleared up a lot of her conflicting emotions about her. She had meant what she had said about wanting to be her friend. Ryoko stopped suddenly, feeling someone tugging on the tail attached to her dress. Looking back, she saw Washu holding on to it. "Washu? What do you want?" Not even the appearance of her "mother" could ruin her good mood.<p>

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions about this morning." Washu looked deadly serious.

"Alright. I suppose so." Ryoko looked a little worried.

Washu pulled her by the tail towards her door. "Not here. In my lab." Going into the sub-space lab, they sat on two cushions that suddenly materialized in midair. "Tell me exactly what you saw today."

Ryoko gave her a confused look. "What do you mean, about the practice session?"

Washu gave an exasperated sigh. "I mean, did you notice anything about the way Samantha was acting? Did she seem inordinately pleased or happy to you?"

Confusion crossed Ryoko's face. "What do you mean, Washu?" Washu looked upset, which confused Ryoko. "What's wrong? As long as she isn't going to go after Tenchi, it's all right isn't it?"

Washu mumbled to herself as she chewed her thumbnail thoughtfully. "Damn. This complicates things considerably."

Ryoko's keen hearing caught her words. "What do you mean? How does that make it more complicated? Washu, what are you talking about?"

Washu looked Ryoko in eye. "Think about it Ryoko. Samantha still wants to get to her home dimension. Now think about how happy she seems here. A decision like that will tear her up inside."

Ryoko gave a gasp of surprise. She suddenly felt very selfish and guilty about being so happy about Samantha not wanting to pursue a relationship with Tenchi. Ryoko brightened. "Well just tell her you can't fix it."

Washu looked at her as if she were a child. "I can't do that. Besides, it's already finished, see?" She pointed over to a kotatsu that held a box designed to fit easily in the palm of the hand. "In any case, I can't take that decision away from her. You remember how she talked about her friends. Could _you_ do that to her?"

"No." The two women sat in thought for a few moments. Ryoko turned to Washu, an inquisitive look on her face. "What if you make it so that it can bring people here instead of sending them away? That way she can bring her friends here instead of having to go back to that horrible place."

Washu closed her eyes in preparation of a long explanation. "That really isn't practical. See, I would have to…" Her voice slowly trailed off as she began to consider the possibility. "Yeeess that could work! I'll just tell her that I can't pierce the hyperspace barrier for an egress of organic matter, but that ingress is another story. She just wanted her friends safe anyway, and they'll be much better off here than there. Ryoko! You're a genius! But then, you come from good stock. Ha ha ha ha!"

Ryoko grinned back at Washu.

* * *

><p>The silence in the house was broken suddenly by the sound of voices, waking Ayeka from a nap she had unintentionally taken. Turning around, she saw that the shoppers had returned, minus one. "Where's Samantha?" The others looked at each other, still smiling from their trip.<p>

"She went to see onii-sama." Sasami's smile was the brightest of them all.

Mihoshi smiled as she looked at Ayeka. "She said she had a thank you gift for his hospitality, so she went to see him at the shrine." They all continued their conversation, complete with giggles on their way to the kitchen to put away the groceries.

Ayeka stood in the living room silently hoping that what she feared wasn't true.

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><p>Samantha nervously approached the door for the third time. <em>Come on girl. It's just a simple gift. It's not like it's an engagement ring. Jeez. <em>Still, she couldn't keep her heart from racing away with her. Finally screwing up her courage, she knocked gently.

Katsuhito's voice responded immediately. "Yes? Who is it?"

Samantha's voice almost failed her. "It's me Yosh- I mean Sir, Samantha. May I come in?" She heard his measured tread approach and the door slid open.

Standing before her was not Katsuhito as she had expected, but Yosho. She blushed fiercely. "Ah, Samantha. Won't you please come in?" He stood aside as she walked past. Yosho made sure she was comfortably seated at the table before sitting down himself. "Tea?"

Samantha nodded. "Yes, please." He poured her a cup; careful not to spill any on the poem he had been working on. The black ink of the beautifully crafted calligraphy contrasted beautifully with the yellow-white of the rice paper scroll creating a work of art in of itself. The haiku written there only added to it's serene beauty.

_**Winter of my heart**_

_**Be gone, for spring has arrived**_

_**Leaving only snow.**_

Samantha gave a small gasp, causing Yosho to look at her with concern. "Is something the matter?"

She just shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just your poem… it's lovely."

Yosho nodded to her. "Thank you. For some reason, I felt… inspired this morning."

Samantha blushed again. "That reminds me of why I came by. I have something for you. Something to say thank you for all you have done for me. Especially about the misunderstanding this morning."

"You didn't have to do that. It's my pleasure to help you in any way I can." Yosho protested.

Samantha dug around her shopping bag. "Then it will be my pleasure to give this to you. Ah! Here it is." She pulled out an ornately carved mahogany box about a foot wide, half as tall, and almost as long. A brass latch halfway down the side showed where to open it. The hinges themselves were so small as to be invisible. She set it down on the table and pushed it to him. "Please accept this with my gratitude."

Yosho reverently picked up the box, feeling it's considerable heft. He opened it and gave a small gasp. Inside was a calligraphy set. The brushes, set into the lid, were carved from cherry with sable tips. The range of sizes here insured that the user would always have the correct tool for the job. On the bottom half of the box was a rolling plate of marble with the characters for beauty and creativity inlaid with onyx. Two blocks of ink were set to the side, one red, and one black. And above all that were six chops carved from marble, the tops of which resembled dragons. Everything was nestled in a plush setting of red silk. Yosho was struck speechless.

Samantha looked at him nervously. "Do… do you like it?"

He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "It's beautiful." There was no way she could have known that his wife had given him a similar gift for their first anniversary. Neither could she have known that it was lost in the wreck shortly after his becoming marooned here on Earth.

She released a breath she was unaware that she had been holding. "I'm glad, because they wouldn't take it back after the engraving."

Yosho looked at her. "Engraving?"

"Yes, I had the chops engraved. Sasami helped with what to carve. Go ahead, look." Samantha nodded toward him.

Setting down the box, Yosho picked up and inspected each. The first read Katsuhito Masaki. The rest had his various titles carved on them. But the last one just had Yosho on it. Smiling, he set them all back in their proper places. Turning to Samantha, he bowed to her. "I am honored to receive such a gift."

She bowed back. "As I said, it was my pleasure." Samantha looked ready to jump for joy. She glanced at the clock and noticed the time. "Oh! It's almost time for dinner. Sasami said that she would just be making something really quick. Are you going to join us?" She looked expectantly at him.

"Yes, just let me change back first." Yosho seemed reluctant to leave this form.

Samantha laid her hand on his. "You know, there's no one to hide your true identity from here."

Yosho's wine colored eyes met Samantha's steely orbs and he nodded. "You're right. But if there's one thing that I've learned from my time here on Earth, it's that one cannot be too careful."

Samantha looked a little disappointed as they left together, but quickly hid it.

* * *

><p>Everyone was gathered around the table, waiting for the last two to show up. By unspoken agreement, two seats were left open far away from Tenchi's. While she hasn't shown any interest in him, the girls were taking no chances for any feelings to develop.<p>

Ayeka carefully watched the newcomer from the corner of her eye, trying to confirm or deny her suspicions. Everybody seemed oblivious to the glances Samantha threw at Yosho every now and then, as well as the glances Ayeka stole at her. Dinner continued with the jovial atmosphere, and after everyone was finished, Yosho announced that he had some things to tend to back at the shrine.

Samantha made to follow, saying that she'd like to take a walk, but Ayeka stopped her at the door. "Samantha-san, could I speak with you? In private?"

Samantha looked confused for a moment, but nodded, "Of course Ayeka-dono." She followed the princess out to Funaho before another word was said between them. Once they reached the shade, she asked "So what's this about your Highness?"

Ayeka fidgeted for a moment, unable to meet her gaze. "I… I've seen how you are looking at my brother, Samantha-san."

Samantha's eyes widened a bit, but she appeared otherwise unsurprised. She had noticed the princess hastily averting her gaze several times during the meal, and was wondering what she was thinking. She decided to play this straight and open. "Yes, I suppose I wasn't exactly subtle, was I?"

Ayeka blushed a little and said, "I... I wanted you to know that… my onii-san is married."

Samantha blinked a few times in surprise, and then looked confused. "But… he doesn't wear a ring. Or any jewelry for that matter. Are you sure? I mean, from what he's told me, you two were separated for quite some time."

The princess nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Juraian custom doesn't dictate that married couples wear wedding bands. As a matter of fact, she was visiting Earth just a few months ago. If you don't believe me, you can ask him about Airi-san."

Samantha looked downcast. "Thank you for telling me before I made a fool of myself again, Ayeka-dono.

Ayeka looked up replying, "It wasn't my intention to make you look foolish, Samantha-san. I was just trying to prevent something worse from happening."

Smiling wistfully, Samantha nodded. "I know. I didn't mean to imply you did. But you have given me something to think about. If you'll excuse me." With that, she flew off in a flurry of wind kicked up by her psychic backwash.

Ayeka reached out to her quickly retreating form. "Samantha…"

* * *

><p>Samantha sat on the same tori'i that Ryoko had occupied just yesterday, her chin resting on one knee. She stared up at the moon and heaved a sigh. <em>You're such a fool. You almost ruined what few friends you've made here because you wanted something more than simple friendship. And then you storm off to have a sulk because things didn't work out the way you wanted.<em> She heaved another sigh, "Ooohhh, Sam. What am I going to _do_ with you?"

"You could come to my lab so I can run some tests like you promised," came a voice behind her.

Samantha turned to see Washu standing in the air behind her. "How long have you been watching me?" she asked in quiet surprise.

Washu gave her a wistful smile. "Long enough to realize that you need a distraction to take your mind off your troubles."

Samantha's snort was answer enough. Washu teleported back to her sub-space lab after telling her where the door was, leaving her to fly back alone and compose herself.


	4. Chapter 4: Killers and Goddesses

Thanks to everyone for continuing to read my story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it. I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of the characters within this story, with the exception of Samantha Nys. She is mine.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Killers and Goddesses<strong>

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><p>Samantha cinched the straps on the gun holsters on her hips. She then began the laborious task of checking over her weapons. .50AE Desert Eagle in the left holster, 15mm revolver in the right. These two weapons had seen her through some tough times, and properly cared for, would continue to do so. Once done, she turned around to face Washu, the galactic genius who was about to test her. Samantha nervously flicked a stray hair that had wandered across her field of vision and said, "Well, I'm ready if you are."<p>

Washu tapped on her floating sub-space computer for a few moments longer before responding. "All set! All you have to do is step through the portal," she gestured to the wild jungle-like environment just outside the open portal before them, "and the test will begin."

Samantha sighed and looked unsure as she rubbed her left hand up and down her right arm. "Washu, are you sure about this? I mean, I've never really cut loose on purpose before. I'm scared. What if I can't regain control? Or worse, what if I like it?"

Washu glanced up from her laptop and eyed her subject for the day. "Samantha," she said sweetly, "I know that this may be a blow to your ego, but if you were to go berserk, I believe bringing you back would be a simple matter for the greatest genius in the universe!"

Samantha was unconvinced. Still, she had seen her do some amazing things, and trusted her judgment. "Alright. If you're certain…"

Washu jumped down from her floating cushion and ran over to her much taller test subject, pushing her out the door. "Of course I'm certain. Did I not just tell you that I'm the greatest genius in the universe? Now just go after the battledroids. And try to avoid the native fauna, they're an experiment that I started a few millennia ago."

Samantha suddenly found herself outside in the wild environment. The air seemed oppressively heavy and moist to her, and there was the sickly sweet smell of decaying flesh nearby. All the plant life was colored green, a little too green. The sounds that she had come to associate with jungles on Earth were absent, and in their place, were sounds much too strange for her to even identify. She turned around to ask Washu where to go, but found that the archway she had gone through was now replaced with more verdant flora.

Samantha was startled when she heard Washu's muffled voice coming from her pocket. Searching around in there, she found an earpiece/mic and set it in her ear like she had been instructed to. Washu asked her for a status report. "Oh, just fine, considering I'm on a planet a bajillion miles from home."

"Hundreds of billions actually," Washu interrupted.

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Lovely. Which way do I go from here?"

Washu chuckled in response, "Anywhere is fine. The battledroids are everywhere, lying in ambush. Just do what comes naturally. I'll be watching."

With that, Samantha was left standing alone in the small meadow. Sighing, she picked up a stick and threw it up in the air. "Well, if any direction is as good as the next…" The stick landed, pointing off to her left. She pulled out her handguns and made her way as quietly as she could.

* * *

><p>Back at the entrance to Washu's sub-space lab, Ryoko poked her head through, causing the crab shaped door chime to ring. "Washu? Samantha?" Getting no response, she was about to turn back when she saw Sasami standing behind her, a stern look on her face and a ladle in hand.<p>

"You're not giving up that easily, are you?" Sasami's tone informed Ryoko of the possible dire consequences of angering the younger princess.

Ryoko looked about ready to cry. "But, dinner…"

"…Can wait until we find Washu and Samantha. They deserve some as much as the rest of us." Sasami grabbed Ryoko by her sleeve and dragged her into Washu's lab.

Ryoko tried her best to reason with her, but to no avail. "But what about dinner? It could burn while we look for them. I'd better go keep an eye on it."

But Sasami would not let her go. "Mihoshi and Tenchi are watching it." Just at that moment, an ominous crash could be heard from the kitchen. "And the sooner we bring them back, the sooner we can eat."

She dragged her off into the lab while Ryoko could only think to say, "But… but… but…"

* * *

><p>Washu had a devious grin on her face as she carefully watched the readouts. A smaller window off to the left showed Samantha flying through the air, blasting battledroids. With every blast, her powers would peak just a little higher. Washu checked the timer and frowned. <em>Hmmm… She is progressing much slower than I would've liked. By now, she should have reached the plateau she had when I first detected her. Maybe I should up the ante. <em>

As the redhead contemplated her options, Samantha proceeded to wreck droid after droid. There seemed to be a never-ending supply, just as Washu had planned. The Esper was really working up a sweat when Washu decided to risk sending out the big guns. A few strokes on the keyboard were all that was needed to set her decision in motion.

* * *

><p>Punch.<p>

Duck.

Throw force bolt.

Dodge.

Samantha's entire life now consisted of battle. That was all there ever was and that was all that there ever would be. She had long ago stopped keeping track of her energy reserves and her weapons lay scattered across the landscape, spent and useless. Her brain had entered the saurian state of fight or flight, a condition that she had known only a few times before. But she was now fighting at a level far beyond what she normally achieved. Blasting droids before she was even aware of them, reacting to blasts and punches almost the instant they were thrown; she had truly reached the perfect state of mind for destruction.

Her body responded before her ears even caught the sound of a heavy footstep, followed by the subtle whine of hydraulics. Dodging left, up, and then behind a tree, She just caught sight of the largest battledroid she had seen yet. The mech had raised a chain gun arm and proceeded to turn the jungle into a meadow. Using the tree as cover, Samantha flew straight up. Once clear of the tree, she back flipped into a dive, straight toward the mech.

Sending a force bolt ahead of her, she plowed through the droid and into the ground, forming a crater several yards across. She picked up the chain gun arm that was spasming away it's ammo and aimed it toward the next huge battledroid, which had just stepped around the large tree. After the first few hits, a force field formed around it, deflecting bullets off into the jungle.

Dropping the now useless weapon, Samantha flew straight for the large robot, dodging its return fire. Her shields were brought down, and she took several grazing hits, but nothing too serious. Making as tight a turn as she could, she grabbed her opponent's arm and swung herself onto it's back.

The droid, unable to reach her, twisted and turned trying vainly to grab its stubborn hitchhiker. Samantha smiled as she began using her most devastating attack. Forming the Power into miniscule knives of force, she began to tear apart the robot from the inside. Her satisfaction was short lived, as she was blasted off the robot from behind by an energy blast. Since her shields were down at the time, the result was very painful.

For a moment she lay face down, unmoving amongst the smoking foliage of the battle zone, Washu's voice distantly yelling in her ear. Her eyes suddenly opened, but a horrible emptiness stared out from them. No longer did they shine with the vibrancy that they once had. Gone was the pleasant demeanor that usually sat there. Not even a mask of fury graced her features. Instead, her expression was neutral, betraying no feelings at all.

Without even bothering to sit up, she floated to an upright position. For a moment, nothing moved, except for the debris littering the ground around her, which swirled through the air in a chaotic pattern. In the blink of an eye, Samantha floated at the left hand of a droid, facing behind it. With a simple wave of her arm, the robot stood there unmoving before sliding to the ground in two halves. Instantly, the jungle seemed alive with attacking droids.

The true battle had been joined.

* * *

><p>Washu was totally engrossed by the readings scrolling on her screen, and thus didn't hear Ryoko and Sasami's approach until they were peeking over her shoulders. Ryoko was the first to get her attention. "What <em>are<em> you doing?"

Washu turned to see her daughter's face inches from hers, intent on the screen. "Ryoko? What are you…"

But she got no further, for Sasami's voice from over her other shoulder caused her to turn to see the small girl watching the screen that held the image of Samantha's fight. "Isn't that Samantha-san?" She gasped as the camera got a close-up of the white haired Esper's cold, dead eyes. With obvious fear, she asked, "Washu, what's wrong with her?"

Washu tried her best to reassure her while keeping an eye on the PK's progress. "It's alright Sasami-chan. I'm just running a few…" She was interrupted again, this time by the alarm. The scientist turned back to the monitor to see Samantha literally walking through a creature that bore more than a passing resemblance to a T-Rex. Blood and gore flew in all directions as invisible blades pureed the animal. Samantha just calmly flew off toward a herd of large reptiles that were grazing on vegetation near a lake. All three gasped in horror as she shrugged off multiple blasts from numerous battledroids and started to tear into the docile herd animals.

Washu started to type furiously, the result of which being that several nozzles popped out of the ground and sprayed the area around Samantha with an opaque, pink gas. She then visibly relaxed saying, "There. That ought to do it. She may be able to soak up a lot of damage, but she still needs to breathe." Washu's relieved smile vanished when she saw Samantha literally _pushing_ the gas away from her, arms held out straight, while simultaneously destroying the nozzles.

Ryoko pounded her fist into her palm. "Dammit Washu, you always have to go too far don't you? I'm going to go calm her down." and with that, teleported away.

Washu reached for her too late. "Ryoko, no! Damn! I had everything under control, but now with her in there..." She turned to see Sasami looking at her with tears in her eyes. Washu placed a reassuring hand on her head saying, "But I won't give up. Don't worry Sasami-chan."

* * *

><p>Ryoko appeared in front of Samantha, dressed in her battle garb. She held out her arms and said, "Samantha, come on. Sasami has dinner waiting for us." She was shocked when Samantha <em>moved<em> and was suddenly standing in front of her, their foreheads nearly touching. Ryoko stared into her eyes, trying to find any sign of the woman she had come to think of as friend but found only a cold abyss staring back. She felt a pressure on her stomach and looked down. She saw Samantha's hands cupped into a basket shape toward her just before she was launched backwards into the jungle.

For a moment, all Ryoko could see were stars. When they cleared, she sat up and was nearly blinded by pain in her abdomen. She looked down and saw no blood, but knew that at least some of her ribs were bruised, if not broken. Finally aware of her surroundings, she saw several tree trunks snapped like trampled flowers, more or less in a straight line from where she flew. Shaking her head to clear it, Ryoko flew back the way she came to find Samantha squatting on a carcass of a large creature with several smaller carcasses surrounding it.

As she got closer, she saw that the PK had one of the smaller creatures in her mouth held by the throat. The creature must have stood easily six feet tall and was obviously bipedal, but she grabbed onto the throat on either side of her mouth and held on as she ripped the feebly struggling animal's esophagus out with her teeth. Amazingly, most of the animal's neck came away with the bite, leaving the head to flop around like a marionette with the strings suddenly cut.

Ryoko grimaced in disgust as she regarded her friend. Samantha appeared to actually be consuming the meat raw, heedless of the blood smeared all over her face. Samantha suddenly stood and faced Ryoko, adopting a hostile stance. Ryoko made no threatening moves and tried to reason with her. "Samantha, I know you can hear me. It's me, Ryoko. Remember me? I'm your friend."

Samantha's dead eyes regarded the alien for a moment before turning away. Ryoko was about to go after her when Washu's voice cut in over their astral link. _Stop Ryoko. She can't understand you right now._

_Bull, _she shot back. _Why didn't she attack me right then if she didn't understand at least part of what I had said?_

Washu's voice sighed. _Because she no longer regards you as a threat, and frankly, you aren't much of a threat to her in this state if you want to bring her down unhurt. I think even Tenchi-dono would be hard pressed to put her down without hurting her._

_Well, what can I do? I'm not just going to leave her like this! She needs our help. _Ryoko replied.

_Don't worry. We've got someone working on that as we speak._

Ryoko scratched her head as she watched Samantha walk away. _What the hell are you talking about?_

* * *

><p>The Killer had seen the best this world had to offer and was unimpressed. Nothing here offered a true challenge. Even the strange woman who had teleported before her couldn't put up enough of a defense to absorb a simple telekinetic push. The only reason she wasn't dead now was because of a lack of a challenge or meat. And that was what The Killer needed now. Using all that power ate up a lot of energy, and meat was the best source to replenish it. While the large grass-eaters offered no opposition, they did have an abundance of meat. Unfortunately, they were so skittish, that they had fled at the first sign of trouble.<p>

So here she was, tracking down any of the beasts. Fortunately, their tiny brains told them to stay together at all costs and so their wide trail was exceedingly easy to follow. The smell of salt water and a dull, constant roar told her that the ocean was near. She soon came upon them, pacing back and forth on the beach.

Without even gesturing, she telekinetically lifted a boulder the size of a semi truck, proceeding to kill each one of the herd beasts with a blow to the head. As the last one fell, The Killer casually tossed the bloody boulder into the water and began to feast. Leaping atop the largest carcass, she used a small portion of The Power available to her and carved out a chunk of flesh as large as her head. As she dined, she scanned the ocean; looking for predators there she could test.

Near the boulder she had tossed out there, a scuffle ensued between several large, shark-like creatures. The Killer stood and dropped the meat she had been eating and _moved_ out until she was floating above the rock. She looked down and saw that these fish were easily as large as a small jetliner. Picking out the largest, she dropped into the water and flew towards it.

The shark swallowed her whole, not even bothering to try and bite. The shark swam along until blood started to seep from its gills and mouth. It jerked and convulsed as if it were fighting an invisible opponent and then exploded in a cloud of red. Other sharks entered the cloud, but none came out, though parts of them did sink out of the cloud.

The Killer flew out of the water and back to her meal. She regained her perch and continued eating the chunk she had carved earlier. While eating, she saw a woman appear before her. She immediately sensed the power coming off of this one far exceeded her own, and got ready to either die or flee.

The woman made no threatening moves, and indeed, gave off no sense of hostility. She was dressed in long, flowing robes, and her electric blue hair was gathered into twin ponytails behind her. Her caring pink eyes exuded sensitivity and would have set any normal person at ease.

To The Killer, she sensed a disapproval that cut straight to the bone. She dropped the meat as tears started to form in the corners of her dead eyes. The woman flew towards her and gently laid her hands on either cheek of The Killer as their foreheads touched. A bright light poured forth from the two green dots on the woman's forehead and The Killer slumped into a boneless heap.

Washu stepped through a rectangular doorway of light and acknowledged both women with a nod. The woman with blue hair vanished with a swirl of wind, leaving Washu alone with Samantha. Washu regarded the place where the woman had floated before giving a contrite smile. _Thanks Tsunami. That's another one I owe you._

* * *

><p>Samantha awoke to see the sweet features of the beautiful woman hovering above her. "Are you okay Samantha-neesan?" While the face bore a strong resemblance to the lovely woman, the voice was much too childish to match her sophisticated looks. Blinking her eyes a few times, Samantha's vision blurred before clearing up again to reveal Sasami looming over her.<p>

"Sasami-chan? What happened? Where…" Samantha sat up to see that she was lying on a bed in Washu's lab. On a bed next to her lay Ryoko, unconscious. The gray haired alien's abdomen was bandaged and she looked as if she had been in a fight. Looking to herself, she found her right arm was bandaged with three spots of blood marring the white cloth. She also felt sore all over, like she had been worked over by several cyberdroids.

Sasami gently pushed her back down on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. "Just lie still. Washu-neechan said that your injuries would heal fine, but you shouldn't move for another hour or so." After a moment, she asked, "How do you feel?"

Samantha smiled at her and replied, "Like I've been run over by a train. What happened? Last thing I recall, Washu-chan was testing the limits of my power. How did I end up here?"

"You just had a minor mishap. Nothing a super genius like myself couldn't recover from." Washu's voice startled them both. She walked over to Samantha's bed and checked the readings on a machine monitoring her. "Hmmm. You should be fine now. How are you feeling?"

"I ache all over and I'm exhausted. I think that I used all of my energy out there." Samantha paused expectantly before continuing. "Sooo… How did I do?"

Washu appeared distracted as she answered. "You exceeded all my expectations. Unfortunately, you were using so much power, that it started to feed on your life energy. I had to put you in the rejuvenation tank to keep you alive. I suggest that you don't try for a repeat without serious thought of the consequences."

The grave news put a frown on Samantha's face. "Duly noted." The room went silent as Washu examined her patient. "So what happened to Ryoko-san? She looks like she went through the wringer."

Washu turned to regard her daughter before answering. "She got a little carried away with a practice session training with one of my robots. I'm hoping that this will teach her to not be so impulsive in the future." She turned back to Samantha with a sigh. "But somehow, I doubt it. She'll be fine though. No serious harm done."

"Are you sure it's not too bad? It looks grim from here." Samantha received a nod from the scientist. A loud growl from her stomach broke some of the tension in the room. "Ummm… Not to seem insensitive or anything, but is it too late for a late night snack? I feel like I could eat a horse right now."

She was turned away from Sasami and thus missed the quick look of horror in her face. Sasami recovered before she could see and said, "Of course not. Everyone else has already eaten, but I'll fix you something quick."

Samantha jumped down weakly from the medical bed, landing on shaky feet. "I haven't felt this hungry since I escaped to the Zone." She turned back to look at Sasami. "You coming?" she asked.

Sasami nodded. "I'll be there in a minute. I just want to see if Washu-neechan and Ryoko-neechan want anything."

"Alright, I'll meet you in the kitchen then." Samantha said as she left.

Waiting until they were sure that she was gone, Sasami turned to Washu saying, "Are you sure that we shouldn't tell her the whole story? She does have a right to know."

Washu shook her head as she regarded the small princess. "Showing her the tape of what happened will only upset her more than necessary. Besides," Washu's face turned serious once again as she recalled her friend's expression. "I think that she may already know. And that is a large burden to carry."


	5. Chapter 5: Duel of Honor

Sorry how long it took to get this update done. Life always has a way of interfering with living. But anywho, here we go on to chapter five.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of the character in this story with the exception of Samantha Nys, and Bundori.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Duel of Honor<strong>

* * *

><p>And so the days passed like that. Whatever time Samantha wasn't spending with Washu, explaining how her Psychokinesis worked or demonstrating it, or just telling her how things worked where she came from, she would be training with Yosho and Tenchi, or helping with the day-to-day activities associated with upkeep of a house with so many people in it. She made up with Ayeka, explaining that she really was never mad at her, but at herself, and settled into Mihoshi's room to share with her.<p>

Ryoko seemed to have disappeared, but in reality, as she was the only one privy to the knowledge of what Washu was attempting, she was with her night and day, helping her modify the wormhole generator in her own way. The help she gave could only be loosely termed such, as her knowledge of quantum dynamics and the math required were far short of Washu's. So she mostly ended up sitting around in between any heavy lifting Washu needed done.

Then came the day that shattered the dream.

Yosho and Samantha were sitting on the cliff that overlooked the forest of gold below them. Autumn having announced it's arrival a few days ago, the trees had accordingly started to exchange their greens for the reds, golds, and oranges of the cooler seasons. They had just finished a late afternoon practice session, and as had become their routine, were sitting and enjoying the afternoon warmth.

Eventually, Samantha broke the serene silence that surrounded them. "Well, Washu said she wanted to continue at five, and it's already five-thirty. I better go before she comes looking for me." She looked like she had something more to say, but shook her head and drew in a deep breath as she stretched.

Yosho smiled at her. "I have to get something from the shrine. I'll meet you at the house, Nys-san."

Samantha beamed at him. "I've told you it's okay to just call me Samantha, Yosho-dono." She turned and briskly walked back to the house.

Yosho replied to her retreating back, "And I've told you just Yosho is fine for me." He watched her go, a sad smile on his face, and wondering if he should say something to discourage her flirting. _Airi wouldn't take kindly to her if she saw that._ Turning around, he came face to face with a familiar face. "Okaa-san! When did you get here?" He was truly shocked to see his mother here on Earth.

Funaho looked down at him sternly. "'Just Yosho', huh? So 'Just-Yosho', when were you planning on telling your poor mother about this one, hmmm?" Yosho was dumbstruck.

* * *

><p>Samantha hummed to herself happily as she walked to the house. Slipping out of her sandals as she entered, she called out. "Washu-chan, I'm back." Walking into the living room, she was surprised to see a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Sasami dressed in multicolored robes sitting on the couch. Ayeka and Sasami were on either side of her and the others were scattered around the room. "Oh, a guest. Good afternoon Ma'am." Samantha bowed respectfully.<p>

Misaki was instantly in front of her, face on the verge of tears. "S… Samantha?" Samantha wore a worried look as she nodded. Instantly, she was crushed in a bear hug that threatened to break several ribs. Misaki just kept crying out, "You poor dear."

"Can't… breathe… need… air…" Samantha managed to gasp out.

The incredible grip of the woman relaxed enough for her to hold Samantha out at arm's length. "You poor girl. They told me what you went through. Oh, how you've suffered. You're so brave."

Samantha looked over to the others, pleading for help. Ayeka crossed the room. "Samantha-san, This is my mother Misaki, Supreme Commander of the Royal Bodyguard. Okaa-sama, this is Nys, Samantha-san."

Samantha managed to give a formal bow, despite still being in the vise-like grip. "A pleasure Your Majesty."

Misaki enfolded her in another hug. "Oh now, There's no need for such formalities. You're like family already."

Samantha's confusion was plain on her face. She looked to each of them in askance, but the only one who would meet her gaze was Sasami, who just shrugged helplessly. She almost seemed to say, "I have no idea where she got that from." "I appreciate the sentiment your Majesty, but I'm a little confused about what's going on here."

Misaki looked her in the eye. "That's all right. All will be explained soon enough." Samantha had no ready response in the face of such determined faith. She nevertheless found herself hoping that she was right... and dreading it at the same time. She still had a home to get back to, afterall.

A bright flash of light outside drew everyone's attention. When it cleared, they could see a tall man in multicolored robes was walking towards the house. Misaki looked nervously from him to Samantha. He stood at the threshold of the side door. "Well? Isn't anyone going to invite me in?" He looked pointedly at Tenchi.

Tenchi crossed over to him and bowed. Although he was still in the clothes he had been working in out in the fields, he tried to be as formal as he could. "Welcome sire. Won't you please honor my home with your presence?"

All the women had lined up behind Misaki trying their best to hide Samantha. She whispered to Ryoko. "Who's he? And why is Tenchi being so formal?"

She leaned over to whisper her reply. "That's the Emperor of Jurai, Azusa. He also happens to be Ayeka's Sasami's _and_ Yosho's father." Samantha's eyes widened. She suddenly felt very small and very, very young. Turning around, she ran as discreetly as she could to the front stairs up to her room. "Hey, you okay Samantha?"

Not even looking where she was going, she ran headlong into somebody. Looking up, she saw Yosho staring down at her, concern etched in his face. He saw a tumult of emotions on her features, and wondered what could have done this to her. Tears forming in her eyes, she broke free of his gentle grasp and ran up to her room. "Samantha…"

Funaho stepped forward. "Perhaps I should go talk to her. You go on. Misaki has been saving up her hugs for you." Not even bothering to see if he went, she ascended the stairs. Following the soft sounds of sobbing, she came to a door with Ryoko standing outside it. "Is that Nys-san?"

Ryoko nodded, her face a study in concern. "I don't know what happened. We were standing there getting ready for the Emperor to enter, the next thing I know, she's running off crying. She won't even talk to me."

Funaho opened the door. "Let us try together then." Inside, they saw Samantha collapsed on the bed, her body wracked with sobs. The sounds of night insects could be heard through the open window, but were muffled by the rattling of small objects as she lost her iron-like control of her power. Sitting next to her head, Funaho rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder and made gentle sounds of calming.

Ryoko teleported to her other side and tried to see her face. "Come on Sam, whatever it is can't be that bad." Unintentionally, she had echoed words spoken to Samantha after a tragedy in her home dimension.

The shock was enough to get her to sit up, and wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. Still choking back her sobs, she thanked them. "Thanks. I'm sorry about this. It's just… I just… I saw the Emperor's face, and he looks so much like my first crush. It brought back a lot of old memories. Some better off left buried. But it also reminded me of what I left behind there, and what I'll be leaving behind here. I guess I still have strong feelings for him, but it was just a lot to take in all at once. What happens if Washu _can_ fix the generator? What then?"

Funaho's voice was gentle as she responded. "Then we shall cross that bridge when we come to it."

Samantha blinked at her in confusion. "Who are you?"

She gave a gentle smile. "I am Yosho's mother, Funaho. Don't worry about the future. Let that take care of itself. It always does. As for my husband, I'm afraid there's little we can do about his resemblance to your lover."

Samantha blushed as she replied, "We were never lovers. It was more like puppy love, all one-sided. I was too young at the time, and he disappeared before anything could come of my feelings." Her face then brightened and she threw her arms around her. She was so choked up, that her voice came out a whisper. "Thank you for everything, though." Ryoko smiled and wiped away a tear as Funaho returned the hug. The room was suddenly quieter as the rattling ceased.

The sound of someone running to the room caught everyone's attention. Misaki burst in. "Onee-sama, There's trouble! He's done it again!" Her face was caught somewhere between fury and crying.

Funaho stood and stormed out of the room. Ryoko looked to Misaki. "Who's done what?"

Misaki grabbed Samantha and Ryoko's arms and explained as she drug them along. "Our husband has brought another suitor for Ayeka-chan."

Ryoko's mood brightened considerably. "Well then Tenchi will just have to send this one packing too. What's the big deal?"

"He's brought Bundori-dono." Misaki looked worried as she mentioned the name.

Ryoko still was unconcerned. "So? One, or a thousand, Tenchi will have no trouble with any of them."

Misaki stopped and faced her. "Bundori-dono is one of our generals. He's a hard, vicious man who will stop at nothing once he sets his sights on something. He's called Bundori for all of his…" She shivered uncontrollably. "…War trophies."

The three hurried downstairs to find everyone outside. Tenchi and a strange man were staring each other down in the spotlight that illuminated the yard. The man's dark, shoulder length hair suited his demeanor, as did the somber formal robes he wore. The girls had arranged themselves on the deck under the eaves. Funaho and Azusa stood to one side and she did not look happy. Misaki ran up to join their conversation. Yosho came up to Samantha, his face a mask of worry. "Are you alright Samantha?"

Samantha nodded to him. "I am now, Yosho-dono. I'll explain later." He accepted this with relief. Unknown to either of them, Bundori had not taken his eyes off of Samantha since she had walked out. The others had however. They also noticed the frown that crossed his face when she conversed so easily with Yosho.

The heated conversation between the Emperor and his two wives came to an abrupt end. "Enough! It may be your place to offer advice on Ayeka's suitors, it is ultimately my decision to make, and I say that Bundori-san is acceptable." Misaki and Funaho quietly glared at him.

"Sire." All three turned to the source of the voice, finding Bundori kneeling before them. "Your humble servant has a request."

Azusa glared at him. This wasn't part of the rehearsal. "What is it, Bundori-dono?"

He looked up at his ruler. "Sire, I beseech you to grant me Ayeka-dono's hand as well as hers, should I win the duel." Bundori pointed to Samantha, leaving no doubt as to whom he meant.

Azusa was livid. This fool threatened to ruin the whole plan! Looking over to Samantha, he saw the disgusted look on her face. _Hmm. Perhaps I can still salvage something from this fiasco after all. _He looked at his most vicious of generals and wondered, not for the first time, if he had gone too far. _Well if he wanted to raise the stakes, two could play at that game._ "Bundori-dono, it is one's own business whom one pursues. However, are you saying that my daughter is not enough for you?"

Bundori blanched visibly as he realized just how far he might have crossed the line. "Of course not sire. It is just that in my desire to emulate our greatest Emperor in all of the history of Jurai, I felt that two wives would bring this humble servant closer to the lofty plateau that Your Majesty has achieved. Please, forgive this unworthy general's convoluted logic."

Azusa smiled inwardly. _Rather clumsily played my good man. But then, your reputation for intuitive logic comes to your rescue. But I think you need a reminder of just where you stand in the grand scheme of things. _ "Very well then. You have my permission to pursue Ayeka's hand as well as any unmarried woman's you deem worthy." He heard growling off to his left and saw Misaki literally chewing the sleeve of her robe off in an effort to not explode with rage. Fearing she would say or do something to embarrass them in front of everybody, he turned to Funaho, ever the levelheaded one, to ask her to calm her down. When he met her eyes however, he froze to the very core. There was an icy quality there that he had not seen in centuries and had hoped to never see again. The last time he had seen it, was when a noble had made the monumentally stupid error of threatening her infant son to her face. The violence that had followed had taken centuries to smooth over. He nervously cleared his throat. "Ahem. Yes, well, should this other woman have any suitors, you will of course, have to deal with them yourself." Azusa was doing his best not to look at either of his wives.

Bundori was overjoyed. "Thank you sire. I'll make sure not to disappoint you." He glanced over to Samantha, a hungry smile on his face.

The smile all but disappeared when the Emperor spoke again. "But, should you lose any duel in this matter, you will resign your generalship as well as any claim on the hand of any woman you have." The hard look he threw Bundori let him know that there was no getting away from that clause. _That ought to make him remember his place._

He smiled again as he acknowledged the stipulation. "Then I shall have to fight doubly hard, my liege."

Everyone was fuming, no one more than Samantha. She was so furious, that her hair kept dancing in an sirocco breeze, as her control of the destructive forces within her slipped. It was taking every bit of her willpower to keep from burying the insolent braggart where he stood. The look he had given her when he had accepted the challenge nearly caused her to loose it then, but Yosho, sensing her power building out of control, gently placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing just enough to let her know that everything would be all right. Almost right away, he could feel her relaxing. The only sign that anything was amiss was a window behind her that mysteriously cracked.

Washu had brought out her floating laptop to measure Tenchi's power, but gasped when she saw Samantha's power chart on the sensors. Without releasing a single iota of her power, she had come close to what Tenchi had achieved back on Kagato's ship before he had called the Light Hawk Wings. While that wasn't a lot by her standards, it still came closer than she was comfortable with to what she reached when she lost control of herself a few weeks ago. More surprising, when Yosho comforted her, the power had subsided to a noticeable "alert" level about an eighth of where it had peaked. In the lab, she had rarely reached levels that high. Washu suspected this had something to do with her emotions. She had never gotten that mad during the experiments, but then; Yosho or one of the others was there sometimes. Perhaps she was afraid of scaring them if she really cut loose. They would have to try some experiments later without him to test her hypothesis.

Bundori rose from his kneeling position. "By your leave Sire." After receiving a nod from the Emperor, he walked over to Tenchi, who wore a hard expression. "Well _boya_, shall we get down to business?" He had been intentionally loud to insult what he considered a waste of his talents and time. _If only all prizes this great were so easily won! _He assumed a battle stance and brought his energy sword into being. He just couldn't keep his triumphant smirk from his face, believing that this was already won.

Without even thinking about it, the Tenchiken flew to Tenchi's hand from where he had placed it under his belt. Touching the ring on his left hand, he activated his battle armor, replacing his normal clothes. Assuming the stance known as Dageki-No-Saigo, or, Final Strike, he let Bundori know just what he thought of his talents. Bundori, upon seeing this, did the same, suddenly replacing his superior attitude with hatred. For many moments they stood there, searching for weak spots in their opponent. By the time Tenchi was ready to strike, he had found several.

Bundori was beginning to sweat despite the cool night. He had yet to find any flaws in Tenchi to exploit. _Damn! He has the stance of a mountain! It appears that I've severely misjudged him. _In spite of not finding any imperfections to use, he had come too far to back down now. Unseen by either contestant, a yellow leaf drifted to the ground between them. Even though neither saw it hit the ground, they both flew at each other when it did, as if it were a signal to strike.

Their swords met in the middle, creating a flash of light bright enough to blind all but Washu, who had foreseen this exact possibility and came prepared with special glasses to filter out sudden, bright flashes. Thus, she was the only one able to see Tenchi and Bundori in the middle, swords crossed, glaring at each other, forehead to forehead. The light then became unbearable, turning the glasses opaque. When the light faded, the others saw Tenchi and Bundori standing meters apart, backs to each other. They stood there like that until Bundori's sword dissipated and he collapsed in a heap.

Tenchi turned around displaying a trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth. Still holding the sword energized, he calmly walked up to the Emperor. "Well _Hisofu_? Have I passed all your tests? Do I meet your expectations?" The sarcasm was so thick you could cut it with a knife. "Will you stop trying to give Ayeka-hime away like some sort of prize?"

There was a moment of silence before Azusa let loose a great laugh. "Ah, Tenchi. Indeed I will. You have earned my respect today." Everyone gathered stared at him in wide-eyed amazement.

Tenchi looked at him, dumbfounded. The moment past, the Tenchiken powered down. "Huh?" Everyone shared his sentiments.

"In all the years that I have been Emperor, only my wives have stood up to me like that. Had you done so in the beginning, I wouldn't have needed to bring suitors myself." Azusa smiled down at his great-grandson. Slapping him hard on the back, he steered them back to the house. "Come, this calls for a drink! Tenchi, I approve of your betrothal to my daughters."

Ayeka's eyes went wide and shimmered with tears. With her hands clasped in prayer form, she followed them inside, Sasami guiding her so that she didn't bump into anything, but looking a little shocked herself. Ryoko was stunned, and unable to move on her own. So, Washu grabbed her tail and dragged her in. "Come on Ryoko." Mihoshi walked in, wincing at the thought of the fireworks that were sure to follow when Ryoko recovered.

Misaki and Funaho looked at each other. "He has a lot of explaining to do." Funaho sounded cold.

"Onee-sama, he has a lot more to do than just explaining. Putting Ayeka-chan and Tenchi-chan through that was bad enough, but Samantha-chan too? I'm surprised that he didn't find a way to somehow involve Sasami-chan as well." Misaki tucked her mangled sleeve in. "We'd better go keep an eye on him before he does anything else Onee-sama." The two walked inside.

Samantha looked up to Yosho, confusion plain on her face. "What just happened, Yosho?"

Yosho sighed. "Just my father doing what he does best: manipulating people into doing exactly what he wants." He guided her back inside, as a light rain began to fall.

Unnoticed by anyone, Bundori watched them walk in, his arm outstretched in an effort to reach her as the rain started to pour in earnest.

* * *

><p>As they walked in Samantha felt a tapping on her shoulder. Turning to the source, she saw Washu looking serious. "Washu-chan? What is it?"<p>

Washu saw the effort of holding back the tears in her friend's face and steeled herself for the lie that needed to be told. "Samantha, could I see you? In private?" Giving him a fond look, Samantha left with the miniature master of matriculation.

Yosho stood there watching her go, his mind trying to come up with a way to let her down gently. His father interrupted his thoughts. "Yosho, come over here and tell us all about this new guest of yours." A determined look on his face, he went to do just that.

* * *

><p>Washu led Samantha into her sub-space lab. Sitting down on the suddenly present cushions, she began. "I have some good news and some bad news."<p>

Samantha had a worried look, unsure if she even wanted the genius to succeed in recreating the device. She nervously licked her lips. "Go on. I can take it."

Washu took a deep breath. "The bad news is that I can't send you back home. There is a barrier in hyperspace that surrounds this dimension, which prevents an exit. That's why you said getting here was such a rough trip. You actually had to break through the barrier in order to get here." Samantha nodded dazedly; still unsure of how she should feel.

Washu continued. "However, the good news is, by using the coordinates stored in the wormhole generator's memory, I have pinned down your home dimension's location. Think of it as a P.O. box in an infinitely large post office."

Samantha was still numb. "But if I can't leave, what good is knowing that going to do me?"

"You may not be able to leave, but I can bring others here." Washu's words caused Samantha to stare in wonder at her. "Now, we'll have to come up with a way to communicate with the ones you want to bring, but that should be no problem for a genius of _my_ caliber!" Washu was knocked over backwards as Samantha barreled into her, enveloping her in the tightest hug she had ever experienced.

"!" Samantha was, needless to say, overjoyed that she wouldn't have to choose between her oldest friends, and the ones she had come to make here.

Washu was a little overwhelmed by her reaction. "It's alright. Anything for… a friend." She gently stroked Samantha's hair and beamed a smile.

* * *

><p>Boya: An informal way to refer to a boy. Essentially, Bundori called Tenchi a kid.<p>

Hisofu: Great-Grandfather.


	6. Chapter 6: You Might As Well Be Walking

A/N: I have to admit that I'm often plagued by this fear that Samantha comes off as some sort of Mary Sue, so I tend to have her fail or get hurt... a lot. I'm also not sure if I get the characterizations of the canon characters down right, and how they might react to her or the situations I write about. If anyone has a legitimate complaint about this, then by all means C/C my story. I would love to have more constructive criticism, as they can only help me to improve. A word of warning. Things get pretty graphic violence-wise this chapter. Beware.

cyberimp6: Thank you for the new review. I had thought that dangling plot thread would trip me up, and it did. At least in your case it did. :P It's actually a remnant of a subplot that had Samantha and Yosho falling for each other, but I decided to cut it when I learned that he was already married to Airi. I wasn't sure what to do with it, which is why it sorta seems to hang there. Don't worry, I do have a small follow-up coming up for it, so it will hopefully not stick out like a sore thumb anymore. Tenchi is anything if not polite, and it shows in his speech patterns with Royalty. Also, I'm glad someone caught that little "slip" of the Emperor's.

Now on to the story! The usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Tenchi Muyo or the characters in this story with the exception of Samantha Nys.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: You Might As Well Be Walking on the Sun<strong>

The redhead and her newest friend walked into the living room. Both were grinning like Cheshire Cats. "Good news everyone! Washu-chan, without a doubt the greatest mind in this or any universe, has figured out a way to bring here everyone I had left behind. I'm not going anywhere!" Everyone but Ryoko had ecstatic looks on their faces. Ryoko was still in shock over the Emperor's pronouncement.

"I beg to differ." The harsh voice behind them caused Samantha and Washu to turn toward the open sliding glass door. Standing there, covered in mud and blood was Bundori, energy sword at the ready as he leaned against the door frame. Moving faster than anyone had thought possible; he grabbed Samantha with one arm, and with the other held his energy sword at her throat. "Don't anyone move, or I get a new war trophy."

"Bundori-dono! What is the meaning of this? Release that woman this instant!" Azusa was furious, but held his arm out, stopping anyone from approaching the former general. He knew that the man was capable of anything when he believed that there were no options left.

"All of you stay back. The lady and I are going to take a little trip. Just stay where you are and nobody will get hurt." A blue beam of light enveloped them both, and they slowly faded from view. They all ran outside in the rain to see a small Juraian ship enter an orb of inky blackness crackling with energy.

Ryoko ran up to Washu and grabbed her arms, lifting her bodily from the ground. "Washu! We have to go after them! Hurry!"

Washu smiled crookedly. "Relax. Aren't I always prepared for anything?" Breaking free of her grip to fall to the ground, she called forth her floating laptop and began to type away like someone possessed. "What? Damn! How did he bypass my measures so quickly? Ryoko! We're going to need Ryo-oh-ki!"

Ryoko threw the cabbit into the night air, which began to change her shape to that of her spaceship form. Fully changed, she beamed them all aboard, royals and all, before taking off into space.

* * *

><p>Aboard Bundori's ship, Samantha had recovered from her shock enough to try to think of a way out of this mess. "Alright smart guy. Now what? If you think they're going to let you get away with this, you're insane. And if you think I'm going to cooperate with you without that sword at my throat, you're sadly mistaken." She could feel the power, as if it were an enraged animal pacing it's cage, wanting to be unleashed.<p>

Bundori looked at her from down the length of his energy sword. "I'm not worried about Tenchi. That fight was just a fluke. He never could hold a candle to my superior swordsmanship, never will when I'm finished with him." He glanced at the screen before him displaying their path through space. "As for you, my dear, you will soon learn to love me and forget those paltry half-breeds and freaks."

There are few things he could have said to her that could have been more disastrous. Combining an insult to her new friends with a threat, implied or not, was enough to let loose her righteous fury. Immediately, her hair began to float around her in a nimbus of psychokinetic energy. Seeing this, Bundori tried to drive the sword home, intent on a murder/suicide, but it bounced off an invisible barrier, causing it to dissipate. Samantha advanced slowly, murder in her cold eyes.

* * *

><p>Aboard Ryo-oh-ki, Washu sat in the con chair, hands on the floating balls that steered the vessel. The others stood around her, concern evident everywhere. Ryoko, floating next to her, was trying to use the same sensors she was. "Dammit Washu! Where has he taken her? If he so much as harms a hair on her head, I swear that there isn't a hiding place far enough away that he'll escape. I'll twist his head off. I'll beat him so hard that his grandchildren will come out bruised. I'll… I'll…" Ryoko's descriptions were cut off with a disgusted snort.<p>

Yosho was staring off into the display of their heading, fists tightly clenched at his sides. Funaho stood next to him, a comforting hand on his shoulder and a worried look on her face. Washu and her frantic searching caught everyone's attention. "Impossible! My sensors can't find them anywhere! Not even Ryo-oh-ki can pick them up." She turned to the Emperor. "What have you been developing? How do we track him?"

Azusa sadly shook his head. "We can't. It's the newest generation cloaking shields. It's so experimental, only five ships even have it, mine, Misaki's, Funaho's, Seto-sama's and his."

Washu hung her head. "That damn ship is just too well hi-. Hold on. I'm detecting Samantha's power signature. She's… oh no." Washu's face drained of all color.

Yosho was there instantly. "Where Washu? Where has he taken her?"

Washu looked up at Yosho, fear plain on her face. "She's in a decaying orbit around the sun."

* * *

><p>When Samantha had advanced on Bundori, the automated interior defenses came to life. Sensing it's master in peril, it tried to entangle the assailant in vines strong enough to stop a rampaging elephant. They succeeded in halting her progress and binding her limbs, but she didn't need to gesture to throw force bolts. Seeing that all the vines ran to a single tree, she mustered forth her strongest blast, and sent it away. The destructive force of the bolt was so great, that it tore up decking as it went, clearly marking out it's target. Bundori only had time to cry out in denial as the devastating energy of her mind struck the tree, which ran all of the functions of the ship. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, as the top half of the tree, suddenly without a middle to connect it to the bottom half, fell to the deck and bounced several times, splitting into numerous pieces.<p>

Without power, the vines went slack, releasing Samantha. Leaves and pieces of wood were levitating around her as she calmly walked over to her captor. The icy hate in her eyes gave him pause before he thought to bring up his sword. Standing with her feet wide apart, Samantha pointed at him. "You are a dead man." The emotionless quality in her voice sent chills down his spine. He had no way of knowing that the harsh training he had gone through to become the cold, calculating killer that he was today, would have been seen as pampering where Samantha came from. What she had endured could have turned the gentlest of souls into a heartless murderer. Indeed, it almost had consumed the small light of compassion she had fostered despite the overwhelming darkness of her world. Were it not for the kindness of a few friends, she too would have succumbed.

He had no idea of the killing machine he had unleashed when he had threatened the lives of some of the few people for whom she would willingly throw away her own life. Right now, her safety didn't matter as long as this threat their lives existed. Shaping her mind into the deadliest of it's forms, The Killer smiled sadistically and centered her power on this poor, doomed soul's heart. Forming the power into microscopic knives, she imagined the miniscule teeth-like projections into action. Weaving and circling, hemming and hawing, spinning and twisting, the sharpest objects known to man slowly turned the hapless organ into a fine paste.

Bundori clutched his chest and staggered, but The Killer would not let him fall, even as blood erupted from his mouth in spurts, and the energy sword dissipated. Still not satisfied with this, she kept the power going while moving her focus up to his brain. Bundori's body convulsed as the tiny whirling razors moved, leaving a trail of gore wherever they went. Finally reaching their destination, they formed into a maelstrom inside his skull, producing a vortex so strong; they actually pulled his dead eyes inside.

Vengeance achieved, Samantha reigned in her power and took stock of the situation. Somehow, the bridge still had power to the outside displays. Sweating, she wondered if she had hit the life support accidentally. Glancing at the screens, she stifled a gasp. Looming before her, taking up three fourths of all the screens, was the sun. The sensors were filtering out the glare, so she could see interplay of reds, yellows, and oranges. The colors reminded her of the forest scene she had shared with Yosho just this afternoon. The occasional prominence emerged, blocking her view of the surface and black sunspots that dotted the terrain. The sight was hypnotic in it's intensity, the motion of the colors almost made them seem alive.

"Warning. Proximity to star designate: Sol approaching critical levels. Evacuation recommended." The neutral voice woke Samantha from her trance-like state. "Slag! How am I supposed to get out of here? I don't even know how we came on board!"

"Compliance." The neutral voice responded. Instantly, blue, two-dimensional arrows came into being about waist high, leading to what looked like an elevator shaft.

Wasting no time, Samantha followed them. "Well that was convenient." Arriving at the shaft, she found no car. Shrugging, she stepped in and flew down several floors until she came to one where the arrows reappeared. Following them down the hall, they ended at a door with alien markings. The door opened automatically, and Samantha found herself in a bathhouse. Furious, she shouted at the ceiling. "I don't need a bath! I need a way out, you stupid machine!"

"Compliance." The arrows reappeared, showing the way further down the hall. Flying as fast as she could now, she followed them up another shaft. Stopping at another floor, they went on down a hallway stopping at another door with different markings.

Walking in, Samantha found herself in a room with rows upon rows of small doors about four feet in diameter. "Finally." Looking in the little window, she saw outer space. With a sinking feeling, she inspected a few others before calling out. "Hey computer!"

"Acknowledged." The voice still sounded neutral, but a little deeper than before.

"Are there any escape pods left on this vessel?" Samantha wiped the sweat from her brow, which was coming now in rivulets.

The computer's answer didn't exactly instill any confidence in her situation. "Negative. Escape pods have all been jettisoned subsequent to current commander's assumption of power." It was definitely not her imagination. The computer's voice _was_ getting deeper and slower.

Defeated, Samantha slumped down against the wall. She didn't even have the energy to cry anymore. With a wry smile, she wondered what Shion would have done. _Of course, __she__ wouldn't have even been caught in this situation._ Looking up, she reflected that at least she had gotten to make a few more friends before she died.

The temperature was starting to become really uncomfortable and her hair stuck to her forehead in wet clumps. She noticed that the sun was shining through the windows, beams tracing lines on the deck and bleaching the wood wherever they touched. _Won't be long now. I just hope it's fast. I hate lingering deaths, especially my own._ She actually managed a chuckle at this.

A loud beeping from the console attracted her attention. Choosing to ignore it, she was surprised when the beeping turned to a familiar voice interspersed with bursts of static. "Samantha? Do you read me?"

"Washu-chan?" Running over behind it, she saw her friend's face on a tiny screen. Tears that wouldn't come before flowed now. She almost caressed the inch high image. "Washu-chan. I'm so sorry. If I hadn't froze earlier, none of this would have happened."

"Samantha, this isn't your fault. No one could have foreseen that this would have happened. But we can talk about this later. I'm trying to get a fix on your coordinates, but am having trouble from the E.M. field of the sun. Could you use your power so I can get a clean fix?" Washu's words were a balm for her soul.

Samantha felt a glimmer of hope returning. Smiling, she answered. "I used up a lot of power getting away from that idiot, but I'll do my best." Gathering the strength left in her tired, aching body, she brought forth her personal force field. Once that was in place, she formed a telekinetic bubble-shaped wall around that. With this much of her Psychokinesis in use, she would only be able to maintain them for a short time. Samantha had rarely used her entire reserves of energy before, but if that was what it took, she would consume every iota of her power in order to see her friends again. All around her, wooden decking began to tear free under the influence of her ambient bleed-off of excess energy, and float in the air.

Throughout all this, she never once removed her teary eyes from those of Washu's She thought that she could hear her voice through the static that now plagued the communications channel triumphantly, "I have her!" but couldn't be sure. A second later, she saw a glowing rectangle appear in midair next to her. Washu's head poked through and waved her over. "Come on Samantha. The ship has almost reached the bursting point."

Still maintaining the shields, Samantha staggered over to her salvation. Reaching Washu, she collapsed into her arms. Washu pulled her over and the doorway closed.

Back on Ryo-oh-ki, Washu was tending to Samantha, with everyone hovering over her nearby. "Thank you…"

"Shhh. Just rest Samantha-neechan. You're safe now." Sasami gently wiped her forehead of sweat with a handkerchief.

Samantha smiled weakly at her. "So… tired…" Slowly, her eyes closed.

"Samantha!" Sasami gasped with concern.

Washu calmed them down. "She's just resting. A touch of heatstroke combined with exhausting her reserves caused her to pass out. Just give her some time and she'll be fine." Everybody released their breath as one. "Now then, let's get back to Earth. I'm sure she'll be more comfortable in her own bed."

* * *

><p>As the sun set on the Tenchi household, birds sang peacefully. Azusa sat on the veranda, attended by his wives. Every now and then, one of them would glance up into the sky in anticipation, then return to their tea. One could still feel the tension between them over Bundori, but there seemed to be a cease-fire in effect for the time being.<p>

Inside, Tenchi, Yosho, and the girls sans Washu, Sasami and Samantha sat or stood in anxiousness. Washu came down the stairs sighing heavily. Everyone stood at her entrance, but she waved them off. "Like I told you all before, she's exhausted, but fine. She'll wake up when she's ready to." Washu perked her head to one side as if hearing something faint. She then turned to Tenchi with a smile saying, "Tenchi-dono, I believe we have more guests arriving."

Tenchi looked at her oddly, then jumped with a start as a knock came from the front door. Washu's smile turned to a grin as he went to answer the summons, and was greeted by the sight of Noike and Seto upon opening the door. "Noike-san! Seto-sama?" The confusion was apparent in his voice, but he managed to keep a pleasant expression on his face. "Welcome back." He said to Noike. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Seto-sama." He said to Seto with a bow, then stepped aside to let them in. "I hope your trip was a pleasant one?"

Noike started to respond, but was cut off by Seto. "A bit boring, perhaps, but then I prefer my trips uneventful."

Tenchi led them into the living room where greetings were made all around. The emperor and his wives were conspicuous in their absence. After pleasantries were exchanged, Seto broached the subject they all seemed to be avoiding. "So where's this new guest I've been hearing about? I hope she wasn't too shaken up in that nonsense with Bundori-dono?"

Shock and amazement spread across the room at the blatant evidence of her intelligence gathering skills. The only one who looked unsurprised was Washu. "Heard already, have you?" she asked Seto.

Seto gave a small smirk as if to say, "How could I not?"

"Then I suppose we don't have to inform you of just who she is and where she's from, do we?" Washu felt a strange reluctance to part with information that went unnoticed by all. All except Seto, that is.

Noike joined Seto as she sat on the couch and replied, "Of course not. Though, I would like to hear your impressions of her personality and… character if you please."

Tenchi returned to the room with a tray of tea for Seto and Noike though no one saw him even leave, and began to serve it. Seto looked at him. "Thank you, Tenchi, dear." She caressed her hand on his cheek, causing no end to the flustered noises from Ryoko, Ayeka, and surprisingly, Noike. Tenchi blushed a little and did his best to serve the tea in an attempt to ignore the move.

Washu sat down in a chair opposite to Seto. "Her character you say? Well, her actions speak volumes to those who care to read, but you said you want our impressions." Washu considered for a moment before answering. "Honestly? She's a woman of contradictions. Stronger than steel and fragile as lead crystal at the same time. She's exhibited more maturity than is often seen in this household," she looked over at Ryoko, "but can be as naïve as any child. But I imagine that's because although her biological age is close to thirteen, her environment has caused her to mature emotionally faster than most." Washu's eyes became hard as she went on. "She believes herself to be a monster, but has more humanity than most. All in all, I'd call her a protector in need of protection."

Seto digested this for a moment as she sipped her tea. When she looked up again, she saw Washu watching her with a raised eyebrow. Her response was a simple nod, which seemed to satisfy the scientist. It was as if there was a whole other conversation being carried out in the subtext between the two. Most of the others were confused by this byplay, but Yosho nodded as well, saying "Then I suppose you'd best go see her then."

Seto rose and he led her to the room Samantha was currently sharing with Mihoshi. They were surprised to find Misaki already standing there, watching through the cracked open door. She held her finger up to her mouth and waved Seto over to show her the scene playing out already.

* * *

><p>As the sunlight streamed through the open window, a cool breeze blew the gauzy curtains aside and danced with the streamer on the wind chime. The quiet ringing provided a counterpoint to the sunbeams, which played among the hills and valleys of the rumpled blanket. A stray beam moved ever so slowly over the generous curves of the slumbering figure, before settling on the flawless features of an angelic face.<p>

Steely gray eyes opened and blinked several times. Focusing her vision on the round chime, Samantha slowly became aware of her surroundings. Judging from the angle of the sunlight, it must be late afternoon. Turning away from the glare, she saw Sasami, asleep in a chair. In her lap, she held her hand, fingers entwined. She was tempted to let her sleep, but felt positively rejuvenated. Sitting up, she brought her hand to the princess's face and gently stroked her cheek. "Sasami-chan."

Instantly, her eyes flew open. "Samantha-neechan…"

"Sasami-chan, after everything that had happened, I realized that you all mean much more to me than I had suspected. When I was… taken away, all I could think of was your safety should you find our trail. I knew that if you had been hurt fighting with that maniac, I would never forgive myself, so I… I…" She swallowed past a lump in her throat. "I killed him."

She saw the young girl about to respond, but forestalled her. "I didn't kill him in just any ordinary way though. I had used a… a technique that I had never used against a living being before. This… ability kills from the inside. I'm afraid I was not gentle with him. I didn't even make it quick. I used it against his heart in order to make sure that he suffered as much as possible." Samantha looked down. "I brought The Killer here into this pure world." Sasami could almost hear the capitalization. "The monster that tried to take me from you was nothing in comparison to the one before you now. I'm begging you not to turn me away, but I'll understand if you do. I'm not sure that _I_ can live with this… thing in me."

Samantha hung her head, unable to meet her gaze after the confession. She didn't ever want to see hatred in those beautiful pink eyes. Sasami leaped into her arms, squeezing her in a fierce hug. "Samantha-neechan, we'd never turn you away. You're a good person."

Samantha felt the tears come unbidden once again, but this time welcomed them. "Sasami-chan, I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for all this, but I swear I will find a way."

The door suddenly burst open, and Misaki rushed in and engulfed them both in a backbreaking hug. "Oh Samantha-chan, I heard the whole thing, and my little Sasami-chan is right. You _are_ a good person! I can't wait until you're officially part of the family and I can truly call you sister!"

The shock was apparent on Samantha's face as she tried to find her voice. "Wha- wha- whaaaaat?"

"Well, there goes _my_ surprise. And here I thought the commander of the royal guard could be trusted to keep a secret." A tall, green-haired woman said as she walked in.

Some of Samantha's confusion was cleared up when Sasami struggled out of Misaki's grasp shouting, "Obaa-sama!"

The woman gave a warm hug to Sasami, then gently bopped Misaki on the back of her head. Misaki just gave an embarrassed laugh as she rubbed the spot. "Sorry Okaa-san. I just couldn't hold it in anymore! You saw how they were! How could anyone resist hugging them like that?"

The woman just gave a friendly smirk and looked to Samantha asking, "So what do you think? Want to be my daughter?"

Samantha looked more confused than ever and looked from the slightly smug woman to Misaki who positively beamed at her. "Uh… pardon my rudeness, but I don't believe we've been introduced?" she said timidly.

The woman's smile spread wider as she replied, "Oh, dear. It seems my daughter's exuberance has gotten the better of her manners. I am Kamiki Seto Jurai. I believe you already know my daughter Misaki and granddaughter Sasami."

Samantha moved to get up and bow, but had to lie back down again as her head started to spin. Sasami was instantly by her side, gently pushing her back into the pillow, eyes full of concern. After a moment, the spell passed and she said, "Please forgive my not rising, but it seems that fight took a lot more out of me than I had thought. My name is Samantha Nys."

Seto nodded saying, "Quite understandable. I've noticed that you haven't yet answered my question, so I'll take this opportunity to explain my offer. May I?" she indicated the side of the bed, to which Samantha just nodded. "Thank you. I won't sugarcoat this, Samantha-san. You've landed in one of the touchiest places in the galaxy. This place and the people you've come to call friends are among the most powerful and influential in the galaxy. I'm sure they've told you about Jurai and the universe beyond the confines of this small planet?"

Samantha nodded again, and Seto continued, "Well think about this: We have not one, but two successors to the throne of the most powerful nation in the galaxy, two princesses of that same nation, the galaxy's greatest and most dangerous genius ever, the daughter of that same genius who, with her ship, held off the _entire_ Juraian navy, and finally the daughter of one of the most influential families in the galaxy as well as one of Jurai's staunchest supporters." Seto counted off each on a finger as she went. She leaned closer to Samantha's face. "And I can assure you that is only the tip of the iceberg, as they say."

Poor Samantha gulped. Rarely had she encountered a woman with the presence to rival her "mother" Shion. But Seto exuded that same confidence at an even stronger intensity.

She continued, "And then we have you, Samantha-san. From what little we've been able to pry from Washu-chan, as well as the daily reports that Mihoshi-san sends, you're quite the powerhouse yourself. Certainly no slouch when it comes to battle prowess or combat experience. Your handling of that despicable Bundori alone, can attest to that. I can tell you that no one will miss him now that he's gone. But I'm afraid all that capability would not help you one bit should you leave the confines of this house, let alone the planet. You see, people would literally kill to know what you do just from living here, not to mention using you against your friends."

Seto leaned back into an upright position. "So what I'm offering you is my protection, Samantha-san. Allow me to adopt you. Bring you under my protective veil. This would mean a formal ceremony back on Jurai, but I'm sure you're as curious about space travel and seeing other planets as I am about you." Seto's smile widened again." Who knows, you may even want to join GP."

Samantha furrowed her brow in confusion. "GP? I've been hearing that term from time to time, but no one has explained it to me yet. What is that?"

Seto replied, "The Galaxy Police. The same organization that Mihoshi-san belongs to. Of course, you'd have to go through the academy first, but I'm sure we can just hand wave many of the classes based on your experience. That is, if you wanted to join. But that can wait for later." She clapped her hands. "So then, any questions before you give me your answer?"

Samantha looked warily at Seto before asking, "If I do accept, what would be expected of me? I mean, what responsibilities would I have?"

Seto gave a sly grin. "What a clever girl you are. Yes, you would have some new responsibilities. Chief among those would be to keep an eye on my family here and give as unbiased a report as you can. It seems that the last person I sent here has fallen under Tenchi's spell. But you don't seem to have that problem, do you?"

Samantha blushed, but replied, "No offense to him or anyone here, but he just isn't my type. He's a nice enough guy, just…" She trailed off trying to come up with a polite way to define something she had trouble defining herself.

Seto laid her hand on Samantha's. "I understand. In any case, that particular playing field is quite full as it stands. Which reminds me of another of your duties. Should I find a suitable match for you, you must at least agree to meet him with an open mind." She winked. "You don't have to marry him, but I do tend to worry about my children, and matchmaking is a hobby of mine."

Samantha looked equal parts embarrassed and horrified, but couldn't find her voice.

Seto resumed, "There will be other minor duties, and I will need you to visit Jurai from time to time, but there'll be nothing more serious than that and protecting Jurai's interests here.

Finally, she found her voice. "I do have a final question." Seto nodded for her to continue. "From what I gather, you know that I'm not from this dimension. Well, while I was in my home dimension, I rescued two girls from… well, a pretty horrible fate. I guess you could say that I sort of adopted them the way you want to do with me. Could I get them the same protection you're giving me?"

Seto smiled gently at Samantha. "I think we can arrange something. If the friends you're having Washu bring over are anything like you, then I would certainly welcome any who wished to take me up on my offer."

Samantha smiled with relief. "Thank you Seto-sama. Or should I call you okaa-sama now?" Her smile turned into a grin.

"Seto-sama is just fine, but you may call me okaa-san if you wish," she said as she leaned down and kissed Samantha on her forehead. Samantha wasn't sure, but she thought she felt a thrill of power from the gesture.

The tender moment was interrupted by Misaki's squeal as she threw herself at Samantha in a hug. "Ooohhh, my little imoto-chan! I can't wait for us to do all the things sisters do! And there's so much we have to catch up on!"

However, before she could go on, this interruption was interrupted by a knock on the door. They all looked over to see a woman with short dark green hair step in. "Excuse me okaa-sama, but dinner is ready."

Seto rose saying, "Thank you Noike. We'll be down shortly. In the meantime, say hello to your new younger sister." She stepped out of the way, allowing her an unobstructed view of Samantha.

Noike bowed to Samantha. "Welcome to the family 'little sister'." When she straightened up, there was a grin on her face. "I'll look forward to seeing you on my visits back home to Jurai."

Seto hid a smile behind her fan. "Actually, Noike-chan, you'll be seeing much more of her than that."

The green haired woman looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean, okaa-san?"

"Well, since somebody here cannot be trusted to fulfill _all_ of her duties, I felt it necessary to assign another person to… assist." Seto replied with a harsh glare. Noike seemed to wilt under her gaze and stammered to formulate a reply, but was interrupted by her mother again. Seto loomed over her adopted daughter and stage whispered to her. "Not to worry. You've performed admirably in all but one respect, and Samantha-chan here will pick up that slack for you. Besides, it's always good to have more than one perspective, neh?"

Noike's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "But okaa-san! That would mean-"

"Yes, I know." Seto interrupted. "Now the poor dear has had more than enough shocks for one day, so what do you say we go down to eat, hmm?" With that, she ushered the girls out so that Samantha could get dressed for dinner.

Samantha just stared at the door for a few moments trying to digest what had just happened before shaking her head and getting up to dress.

* * *

><p>Obaa-sama: Grandmother<p>

Okaa-san/ Okaa-sama: Mother

Imoto: Little sister


	7. Chapter 7: Phone It In

A/N: Sorry that I haven't posted this earlier, but the log in button on the top of the page isn't working for me, and I had to use a workaround with some email alerts. Hopefully they'll fix this soon. Since I haven't had any complaints on characterization yet, I'm going to assume that I'm doing okay so far, and continue as I have been. I have to warn you that from here on out, the cast is going to grow by quite a bit. I'll try not to displace the canon cast, but they will necessarily take a backseat to the new ones, at least initially. Things will eventually return to a semblance of normality, though.

The usual disclaimers here. AIC/Pioneer/Geneon own Tenchi Muyo and the characters therein. Shion and Marta Nys, Li LingLing, and Sylvie belong to Mark Surbrook (whose stuff is on display at h t t p colon /surbrook dot devermore dot net/index/ Take out the spaces, and replace colon with : and dot with . To see the characters I'm talking about check out the Kazei 5 section). Samantha Nys, Yohko, and Azusa are all mine.

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Phone It In<strong>

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><p>Needless to say, the table was crowded. Or at least it would have been, had Washu not enlarged it and the room temporarily at Tenchi's request. Samantha walked down the stairs and sat down in the available seat between Washu and Seto. The last person thus seated, everyone dug in. Samantha couldn't help but glance every now and then at Azusa and marvel at his resemblance to poor Yoshi, her lost first love. <em>If Yoshi-niichan had lived long enough, he might have looked just like him…<em> Luckily, he seemed oblivious to her glances, but a movement to the side of him caught her attention. She turned her head slightly only to see Seto watching her with a knowing smirk. Samantha blushed furiously and kept her eyes on her food for the rest of the meal.

After the meal, Samantha volunteered to help Sasami in the kitchen with the clean up, and started clearing the table. While they were busy with that, Noike served tea to the royals in the living room. While Samantha was in the middle of washing a dish, she felt a strong presence behind her and turned to see Seto standing there. They were mysteriously alone in the room, and Samantha swallowed hard as the imposing woman came closer.

"So. Care to tell me what you found so interesting about the emperor during dinner?" Seto's tone was calm, but the hard glint in her eyes informed Samantha that she would brook nothing less than the truth from her.

As much as she wanted to look away and escape those hard eyes, Samantha couldn't tear her gaze from them. "I… I guess you should know." She told her an abridged version of her life story, focusing on Yoshi and his relevance in it. She finished by saying, "I just want you to know that it's not going to be a problem. I know he's married, and I've made it a rule to never go after married men. Too much trouble and drama involved in it. Besides, he's what, my brother-in-law now?" She gave a wry smile.

Seto appeared to consider this for a moment. "I suppose this means I'll have to find you a proper suitor sooner rather than later. Just to keep you out of trouble."

Samantha's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no!" She paused when she saw Seto's eyes widen. "What I mean is, you don't have to bother! Really! Like I said, this won't be a problem at all. I was just surprised by the resemblance is all." She could feel the tears start forming at the corners of her eyes unbidden.

Seto walked closer and put her hands on Samantha's shoulders. "You've waited a long time to tell that story, haven't you?"

As she nodded, Samantha replied, "It was almost two years ago, but it feels like yesterday." She shook her head as if to clear it. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually this weepy. There's just something about this place that… well, I feel safe enough to let down my defenses."

Seto enveloped her in a hug. _Guess I get to have a few more years of mothering._ Seto wasn't displeased by the prospect.

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><p>"Are you ready Samantha?" Washu sat on her floating cushion with her ethereal laptop standing by.<p>

"Ready to get my friends out of a hellhole I wouldn't send my worst enemy to? Oh yeah. I'm ready." They had spent the last few days setting up the complicated arrays needed to reach her home dimension.

The first they got a hold of would be her "mother" Shion Nys. Samantha couldn't believe how good it was to hear her husky purr again. Upon picking up the receiver, that sultry voice sent chills down Samantha's spine, just as it always did. "Hello?" Even that simple greeting had sounded like an invitation to so much more.

"Shion? It's Samantha." She hadn't felt this nervous since first meeting her years ago.

"Samantha? Where have you been? I… that is, everybody has been worried sick about you! Sylvie has been calling Ling Ling so much that she's put on her long distance phone plan. And Yohko and Azusa have been a wreck. They won't eat, won't sleep. Sylvie had to take them to a doctor in the zone to put them on supplements." The concern was evident in her voice.

"Shee, listen. It would take too long to go into where I've been, but suffice it to say that you were right. That group I had joined was much too idealistic for our own good. I'm calling because I've found a place away from the horrors of my former life. Shee, I want you to come with me. I'm going to invite the others, and in Yohko and Azusa's case, they're coming regardless. I wanted you to be the first I called because living here means that you can't go back, and I knew that you would need the most time to consider. This is a one-way trip, so no changing your mind once you're here. I've got a friend here who can help you with the money transfer and everything. I'm going to call Marta next, so I'll need you to stay off her line for a few minutes, but if you could do me a big favor and tell Sylvie, I'd be grateful. She's the only one I want to bring but can't reach. I know it sounds crazy, and I know that I'm asking a lot for you all to uproot your lives for me, but trust me. If you saw where I'm at now, you wouldn't hesitate." Samantha listened for any response. When she didn't get any, she began to worry. "Shee? Are you there?"

"Hai… err yeah, I'm here. This is all just a bit much to take in all at once." Shion sounded very confused, but regained some of her fire. "I told you those idiots would do nothing but get you into trouble, didn't I? When you disappeared along with them I… I thought the worst." She sighed. "Well I guess I'll go talk to her. Just… just be careful, huh?" She sighed and they said their goodbyes.

Hanging up, Samantha took a deep breath to clear her mind. She counted to ten several times to calm her jangled nerves, and then picked up the receiver to dial the next number. It was picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" Samantha recognized Ling Ling's dulcet tones right away.

"Ling Ling, it's Samantha." She waited for the expected yell and was not disappointed.

"Samantha! Omigod, where have you been? We've all been sick with worry. When you disappeared and didn't show up for several weeks, Sylvie started with the calls and hasn't stopped since. Where are you?" Ling Ling started out angry, but quickly moved to concern.

"Is Marta there? I really don't want to have to explain myself too many more times." Samantha's joy at hearing her friends' voices again was diminished by exasperation at having to tell her story so many times.

Ling Ling looked over to the front door as it opened, admitting Marta. Her weariness was evident in the much-abused appearance of her armorcloth bodysuit. "She just walked in, did you want to talk to her?"

Samantha smiled. "Just put me on the speakerphone so I can talk to you both at the same time."

"Alright." Ling Ling removed the receiver from her ear, and Marta gave a weary "I'm not here" gesture. Ling Ling cupped the mouthpiece, and looked at her with a smirk. "Trust me, you'll want to take _this_ call." Marta threw up her arms in defeat and walked over to take the receiver. She was surprised when her lover instead pushed the speaker button and placed it on the cradle. "Go ahead, you're on."

"Hello Marta? Are you there?" Samantha's distorted voice came from the small device.

Marta rushed over and grabbed the edge of the table with both hands. "Sam? Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea what you put us through?"

"Gomen, gomen. I'm truly sorry about that, but circumstances beyond my control conspired against me to prevent me from contacting you all." Even through the distortion of the speakerphone they could hear the contriteness in her voice.

Marta started to look angry. "You had better have one _hell_ of a good explanation young lady." She couldn't believe she had just said that and wondered when she had turned into her mother. Ling Ling looked at her in surprise, wondering the same thing.

Samantha took a deep breath to begin her spiel when Ling Ling's doorbell rang. "What was that?"

Marta looked darkly at the entrance way. "Just the door, ignore it. You were explaining yourself."

Ling Ling laid a hand on Marta's shoulder. "I'd better go check. Just hold on Samantha. I'll be right back."

"Alright." The tinny voice sounded exasperated.

Marta fumed at the interruption. "This had better be good."

"Trust me Marta, when you hear this, you're going to have kittens." Samantha, not knowing that it was directed to the door answered her comment.

"I wasn't talking to you, but it applies all the same." Crossing her arms over her chest, Marta couldn't keep the hurt in her from turning into anger. She was surprised when two extremely thin girls joined her at the table.

"Onee-sama!" The way they shouted in unison as well as their close appearance made them look like twins, but Yohko and Azusa shared no blood between them.

Samantha sounded surprised, but the joy overrode any other emotion she may have felt. "Yohko! Azusa! How did you get there?"

Shion walked over to the phone. "I brought them. When they heard that you had called, they were so excited that it was all I could do to keep them from having a conniption fit right there."

Samantha pondered for a second. "If you brought them, then did you…" She sounded hesitant, as if afraid to ask.

Sylvie came over with Ling Ling. "I'm here too Sam." A tearful smile graced her face.

Marta kept the conversation moving with her usual tact. "Roll out the barrel, the gang's all here. Now can we get this conversation back on track, please?"

Samantha laughed at her impatience. "Alright, but you all better find something to sit on. My tale is rather long, and even just recounting the highlights is going to take a while. Let me know when you're ready, guys."

Marta lost her patience and hit the table, causing the two small girls to jump. "Dammit! Just get on with it already! I'd like to hear it sometime this year."

Trusting them to find their seats during the story, Samantha began her tale. They listened raptly as she recounted the events that led to her current situation. Marta had the hardest time believing everything, and let her disbelief be known. "C'mon Samantha. You expect us to believe that you're in some alternate reality where everything is all gumdrops and lollypops? If you don't want to come home, just say so. Lord knows nobody'd blame you."

Ling Ling appeared more receptive. "You know Marta, some of the scientists that have been hiring us have been asking some really weird questions lately. And that last mission we were hired for last week was a prime example. What did they say they were looking for in the Neo York Zero Zone? 'Gravitational distortion residue' or some such nonsense? As a matter of fact, they started around the time Samantha disappeared." She looked to the ceiling as if to find the answers written there, as she put her finger to her chin in thought.

Marta looked at her busty lover in disbelief. "Are you telling me that you're buying into this? Shee, talk some sense into them. I mean, this is just insane!"

Shion looked to her sister with a deadpan face. "Marta, I have noticed that there is something… wrong with this world. And I just don't mean Samantha's absence either. There's something… off. Not quite right… As a matter of fact, I'm not the only esper to have noticed this… shift?" She chewed on her thumbnail thoughtfully.

"You have to admit, it sounds farfetched Samantha." Sylvie looked at the phone, conflicted.

Marta waved her hand at the gold-eyed beauty. "Thank you! At least someone else here still has her head on straight." Marta was going to say something to Yohko and Azusa, but seeing the emaciated girls holding each other in confusion, softened her heart. Nodding at her kitchen, she said, "Go get something to eat before you pass out on our carpet."

Samantha's voice came from the phone again. "Yohko, Azusa, go eat something from the kitchen. I don't want you two getting sick on me. The trip is going to be rough enough as it is. If you're not strong enough, we're going to have to postpone it until you are, understand?" Her stern, but caring voice nearly had them crying with shame, but they kept it in as they headed for the kitchen. "Alright, we figured that you guys wouldn't believe me so we set up a little demonstration. Does anyone have a small object that you wouldn't mind losing?"

Shion answered. "I do. Here, it's my gun. I can always get another." She set her Hoshoku Zeta on the table.

They could hear Samantha talking to someone in the background. "Washu, you got a fix on it? Alright." Her voice once again addressed them. "You all may want to shield your eyes. Washu says there will be a bright flash. Here we go." There was a sudden build up of energy in the room. Shion brought up a force bubble around them, the side effects causing even more damage than the effects of the dimensional rip. A sphere of electricity formed around the gun and, with a whoosh, shrunk down to nothing, leaving a hole in the table and no gun. There was a momentary pause before Samantha spoke again. "Ling Ling, I'm really sorry about your table. We had no idea it would do that. I was always flying when I activated the device in case I came into hostile territory. Shion your gun is here and is just fine. Pretty nice too. Is it the new Zeta model?" They could almost hear the smirk in her voice. "In any case, you can have it back when you get here."

"Just make sure that I _do_ get it back." Shion's smirk seemed a match for the one in Samantha's voice.

Samantha sounded excited. "So you are coming?"

Shion pondered this for a moment. "Well, I think that I've had my fill of corporate politics here. There doesn't seem to be any retirement policy in my line of work. And every day, it seems that the work-related danger become worse and worse, while the pleasure that used to come with the job has really diminished. Not a word from you, Marta." She had added the last when she saw her sister open her mouth, and knowing her dirty mind, wouldn't have liked the innuendo that surely would have followed. "I think I'm ready for new challenges. I just hope this new world of yours isn't _too_ peaceful. The only thing is, I would need to transfer all my wealth over. I'm not leaving without that."

"Washu can do that for you. She's already transferred my stash over here and even converted it into the local standard." Samantha was getting more excited, trying to sweeten the pot for her. "She really can't help with your stocks and bonds, so you'll want to cash them out."

Sylvie looked conflicted. "Sam, as much as I want to see you again, there's too much going on here for me to just pick up and leave like that. I have a lot of responsibilities."

Samantha sounded extremely sad. "Well, I can't force you to come. If you really want to stay, I'll respect that, but I'll miss you. You were my first friend after my escape from Jinsei and you'll always mean so much to me for that. I just wish that there was something I could say to you to convince you to come." She heaved a heavy sigh.

Sylvie smiled as she shook her head. "Now I didn't say anything about not coming, did I? It's just going to take me a while before I can join you. I need to notify Gordon, find a replacement for me at 93U and the Vat. You probably didn't realize it, but I'm juggling a lot here. It'll just take time."

Samantha's tone changed to ecstatic. "That's great Sylvie! What about you Marta, Ling Ling? Are you coming?"

Ling Ling looked nonplussed, while Marta appeared thoughtful. They glanced at each other for a moment before Ling Ling nodded. Marta answered for them. "I suppose since everyone's coming, we might as well." She grinned at Ling Ling. "Besides, Ling Ling has been wanting me to slow down lately. This dimension of yours sounds like a good place to do that while staying in the game."

"Great! All that leaves now is for when you all are coming. How soon can you all wrap up your businesses there and liquidate your assets?" Samantha obviously wanted this to happen today, but was restraining herself since they were all definitely coming over.

Shion answered first. "I can be ready within the month. A move this complete will take a while." She was already making plans in her head.

Ling Ling piped up. "It will take a while longer for Marta and myself. We'll need at least two months. My assets are scattered pretty far."

Marta grinned at her. "I don't know, I think your 'assets' are looking just fine to me." The leer in her face as she looked at Ling Ling spoke volumes. The hand she rested on her butt spoke even more.

Ling Ling turned red as Shion sighed disgustedly and threw up her hands, wondering not for the first time, how they came from the same parentage. Sylvie cut in. "I can be ready by the time Ms. Nys is."

Samantha replied "It would be better if you all came at once, so I guess we'll see each other in two months. I'll try to call again in a few weeks to see how you're coming along. I'm really glad you all decided to join me here. I've missed you all so much. Right now, we've got a lot of work to do, so I'll talk to you all in a few." They all said their goodbyes and the line went dead.

Ling Ling pushed the disconnect button and sighed. "Well it looks as though we have a lot to do." She looked at Marta, who nodded silently. "Sylvie, if you want, you can leave Yohko and Azusa here. We'll make sure that they get their strength back while you're busy."

"Oh, I can't do that. You've got so much to do yourselves." Sylvie's voice dropped to a whisper. "And they're really a handful. They don't really act like brats or anything, but ever since I've known them, they couldn't do much for themselves. I think that experience on the ship really hurt more than just their bodies."

Marta cut in. "Aaaahhh… don't worry about it. I'll be here to help out with them. Two months shouldn't be too much trouble."

Sylvie considered this for a moment before calling them in the room. "Yohko, Azusa, come in here for a minute."

They came into the room, each were munching on a piece of fruit. As usual, Azusa was the one that spoke for them both. "Yes Miss Sylvie?"

"I told you not to call me that." Sylvie groused. "I want you to stay here until we leave to meet Samantha. I have too much to do and won't be able to make sure that you two eat the way you're supposed to." They appeared about to protest, but she cut them off. "Miss Nys and Miss Li here" she indicated to Marta "are going to see to your needs until then. I want you to obey them as if she were Samantha or myself, understand?"

They looked shamefully at the floor. "Hai Mi- Sylvie." Azusa sounded contrite, and very sad.

Shion broke the moment of silence that had descended on them. "Now that that's settled, I suggest we get going. Two months will pass quicker than any of us realize."

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><p>Samantha hung up the receiver with excitement. She walked over to Washu, who was still sitting on her omnipresent floating cushion, and picked her up in a giant hug. "I can't thank you enough Washu-san. This means more to me than you know."<p>

Suddenly, Washu was in her adult form, and mysteriously taller than the snow-haired woman in her arms. She wrapped her arms around her and slowly stroked her hair. She felt Samantha settle into the embrace and sigh contentedly. They stood there like that, Washu holding her like she would a daughter, making her feel secure and wanted.

After a few moments, they separated and Samantha looked over at Seto sitting on another floating cushion. "Well, there it is. I guess I'll have to wait to see you in two months. I doubt we could make the trip and return in that time, let alone hold the official adoption ceremony besides."

Seto rose and walked over to her newest daughter. "Actually, the ceremony isn't for the adoption. We can settle that right now by signing some paperwork. Though we'll need a few witnesses, I'm sure there'll be no shortage of those here."

The white haired woman looked up at her in confusion. "Then what's the ceremony for? Isn't it to welcome me to the family?"

Seto gently brushed a stray hair from Samantha's face. "Of course you're welcome in my family, Samantha-chan. But that ceremony is for your tree selection."

The confusion on Samantha's face grew. "Tree selection? Why do I have to pick a tree?"

Seto sat down again with a fond smile as her cushion floated over to her. "Ah, it's so refreshing to be working with a clean slate, neh Washu-dono?"

Washu, in her usual form now, nodded with that same smile. "Yes. I remember when Zero first merged with Ryoko. Oh, such fun she was!"

Samantha sat down again in utter confusion. "You two aren't making sense. What's this about trees and clean slates?"

Seto turned back to Samantha. "What I mean dear, is that you're joining a royal family. No Bi. Li. Ty." She sounded out each syllable. "And all Juraian nobles are paired with a tree. But these trees are special, you see. These trees are sentient and the direct descendants of Tsunami, the first royal tree."

Samantha looked thoughtful for a moment. "Tsunami… why does that name sound so familiar?"

Washu grinned at the woman. "Perhaps because you've already met?"

In a flash, it came back to her. The test. The robots. The dinosaur-like creatures. Losing control and letting the Killer take over her body. But most of all, the overwhelming presence of an entity that she could only describe as love. And that entity, that beauteous, wonderful entity had accepted her and all her faults. She couldn't help it. Tears of joy and awe began to roll freely down her cheeks.

Samantha looked around only to find herself on a plane of stars. She looked down to see her body was naked, but composed entirely of a bright, golden light. She looked up to see the towering figure of Tsunami. She must have stood kilometers high by her estimation, as Samantha floated near her stomach. Tsunami reached out to caress her cheek. And even though their size difference was vast, she seemed to fit perfectly. With that one gentle touch, Samantha knew what it meant to love unconditionally. Perfectly. Without reservation. With that one touch, Samantha knew and understood so much.

Samantha felt a touch at her shoulder and turned to it. She saw Washu and suddenly realized that she no longer stood in the field of stars, but in her sub-space lab. The tears slowed to a trickle until Samantha wiped at her eyes and they stopped completely. Concern was etched on Washu's face. "Are you alright, Samantha-san?"

Samantha looked down at her hands to see them shaking. She clenched them into fists as she fought to regain control. A noise that had been at the back of her attention was brought into focus as she looked over at the tray of tea and noticed the crockery rattling around. It took her several minutes of calming breathing to fully reign herself in. By then she knew that she had just had an epiphany of some kind, but was unsure what it was anymore. "I… I… yes, I'm fine. I just had… I feel like I had something special… no, profound just now. But it's gone now. I wish I could find it again. It… it made me feel so special… so loved… It was like… touching the face of God…"

Washu gently patted her on the shoulder. "You sound exhausted. Why don't you go take a nap? I'll wake you for dinner."

Samantha nodded in a daze. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. See you at dinner." She stumbled out the door without even acknowledging anyone.

Seto said nothing, but raised an eyebrow at Washu. Washu motioned for her to follow. "It's better I just show you the video. I think I know what she was remembering." The two women walked off into the deeper recesses of the laboratory.

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><p>On that same plane of stars Samantha had just visited, Tsunami awaited Washu's arrival, and wasn't disappointed. "I suppose you'll want an explanation of what just happened onee-sama?"<p>

Washu crossed her arms and nodded.

"I was simply acting on that possible tangent you brought to my attention earlier. She is a good person and deserves to know that about herself. Besides, if she bonded with a tree as she was, it would have driven her insane eventually."

Tsunami's gentle heart never ceased to amaze Washu. "Alright, alright, point taken. I just wish you had informed me beforehand."

The blue haired Goddess smiled. "I honestly didn't expect her to reach that point for some time yet. But when I saw the pieces falling into place so soon, I knew I had to take the chance. In any case, she'll be a wonderful addition to the family. Especially for Ryoko. They really have a lot in common, don't they?"

Washu smiled wistfully. "Yes. It's good for her to finally have a peer. Someone who's been where she has, and had similar experiences. I can see those two forming a strong bond based on that alone. Ayeka's fine for a rival, but she really needs someone more like herself."

Tsunami knew what was unsaid, and offered comfort by taking Washu's hand. "Like you said, she needs a peer. You're too much like a mother to her for that." Washu's expression turned hurtful and she looked away. "That's why you have us onee-sama, remember?"

Tokimi appeared next to them and took Washu's other hand. "You'll always have us, onee-sama,"


	8. Chapter 8: Family Matters

A/N: Buckle in for some serious character development people. Rough seas ahead. Cyberimp6: Glad you liked it. No sense in wasting potential growth between characters, amiright? Seto is one of my favorite characters in the series. I like her brand of mischief. If you liked the footnotes before, you're in luck this time around. :P Your concern about the tree may be addressed later on.

The usual disclaimers here. AIC/Pioneer/Geneon own Tenchi Muyo and the characters therein. Shion and Marta Nys, Li LingLing, and Sylvie belong to Michael Surbrook (whose stuff is on display at h t t p colon /surbrook dot devermore dot net/index/ Take out the spaces, and replace colon with : and dot with . To see the characters I'm talking about check out the Kazei 5 section). Samantha Nys, Yohko, and Azusa are all mine.

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Family Matters<strong>

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><p>Finding a secluded spot in the woods wasn't very hard out here. Out of sight of the house or the shrine, a rather large group had gathered. Samantha turned to look at the newest friends she had made here. Yosho and Tenchi smiled at her as she gazed at them fondly. Ayeka and Sasami beamed at her, happy for her that the only people she could call family were about to arrive. They knew what it was like to be separated from your loved ones for too long. Mihoshi, Noike and Washu returned her warm smile. The visiting royals had returned to Jurai weeks ago, and Noboyuki had been picked up by his wife Rea, but Seto would return within a week to extend her offer to Samantha's friends.<p>

Samantha grinned like a canary-eating cat as she walked to Washu. "Well, are you ready? I'm sure they're waiting for us." Washu just smiled and brought out her laptop. A few keystrokes later, and a glow filled the clearing. When it had died down, they saw her device. A platform six inches high and ten feet in diameter now stood in the center. The metal casing of the body was topped by a green glass inset with a lighter green grid.

Washu brought her fans and struck a pose in front of it. "I present to you, the Improved Wormhole Generator, Washu Edition. Able to send or retrieve objects or persons to and from other dimensions, this device will be the most revolutionary creation ever to be forgotten."

The others looked at her in confusion. Ryoko floated forward. "Forgotten? Washu, why would _you_ want any of your inventions forgotten?"

The tiny titan put her nose only inches from her daughter's. "Because, Ryoko, unlike other mad scientists, I don't like to leave the truly dangerous stuff just lying around. And if there's ever a danger of abusing something, this device ranks pretty high up there." Ryoko scratched the back of her head and gave an "Ah". Washu turned back to her laptop and began to type. "Alright Samantha, will you do the honors?" She stood aside and gestured to the keyboard that had one blinking key.

Samantha stood before it and sighed. "Here we go!" She quickly tapped the key. At first nothing happened. Ryoko was about to ask Washu about this, when a high-pitched whine could be heard. The glass panel began to glow and a dot of light began to expand about five feet from the ground. When it had expanded to fill the diameter of the platform, it shrunk almost faster than the eye could see, leaving behind four women and two lanky girls. They hovered there for a moment, wind whipping everyone's hair around, and then descended slowly. The wind died when they hit the platform.

Immediately, the two girls rushed to Samantha, who held her arms open to receive them. They crashed into her and hugged her as they sobbed into her chest. "Onee-sama!" was the only intelligible thing that they uttered. More slowly, the others came over and hugged her around the two girls. Even Shion, in an uncharacteristic show of affection joined in momentarily before quickly stepping back.

Introductions were made and the newcomers stared in shock at the people Samantha had befriended. Marta was the first to comment on them. "What, are we going to a rave later tonight? I haven't seen this many unnatural hairstyles and colors since the last time I went clubbing."

Samantha bopped her gently on the back of her head. "Be nice or I'll tell them about the hair experiments you went through when you were fourteen."

Marta grinned at her. "Wasn't me. Must be some of those simex1 memories of yours."

Shion leaned over and stage whispered, "Then I must have had the same treatment, because I remember some bubblegum-pink hair pretty clearly myself."

Marta looked about to reply, but Ling Ling grabbed her hand and whispered something in her ear that turned her bright red. Samantha rolled her eyes and gestured for them to follow her to the house and waiting celebration.

* * *

><p>Samantha was happier than she had ever been before. People who loved her surrounded her, and she was about to be adopted. Really, truly adopted into a family. No more pretending! The dress for the ceremony was the most beautiful, garment ever designed by mortal hands. The only thing to spoil it was the constant poking feeling on her right arm. Looking down, she saw Washu, index finger about to go for another poke. "Wake up Samantha, wake up."<p>

Blearily opening her eyes, she saw Washu was indeed poking her in the arm. She grumpily appraised the scientist. "Washu, do you realize what time it is?"

The small scholar grinned at her. "10a.m. any other questions?"

"Huh?" Samantha sat up groggily. Looking around her brought back fuzzy memories of last night. Everyone was sprawled around the living room asleep. Even Sasami quietly snored away with her head on Tenchi's lap. _Oh yeah. The party. I don't think I've ever drunk so much in one sitting. _Thinking back, she winced. She remembered offering her body to Yosho along with Marta and Shion, but since they were still passed out leaning on the dining room table and fully clothed, she assumed her virtue remained intact. _Oh God. I can't believe Marta got me to do that. I just hope that nobody else will remember that. _She blushed when she saw the empty banana peel on the table before her and the dare that came back to haunt her.

Washu didn't seem to be suffering from any side effects from last night's celebration, much to Samantha's chagrin. "Ugh. Washu, how can you be so cheery this soon after last night? I feel like something crawled in my mouth and died."

Washu grinned at her. "A poorer choice of words I can't imagine. Especially considering what you did last night."

The color drained from Samantha's face, then turned red. She hid her face in her hands in embarrassment. "Oh, no. How am I ever going to face anyone again after last night?"

A hand rested on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Washu smiling at her. "Don't worry about the others. I doubt they'll remember much of anything. I need you to wake your friends and bring them to my lab. You can let the little ones sleep, though." She indicated Yohko and Azusa sleeping sitting up and leaning against each other not far from her. Before Samantha could respond, she walked off.

_I wonder what that was all about? _Realizing that she'd never be able to guess at Washu's motives, she shakily gained her feet and began to gather the requested people. Samantha herded the hungover women to Washu's sub-space lab and smiled at their wide-eyed reaction. This was definitely _the_ space to impress people, and never failed to deliver. The four beauties gaped open mouthed at the seemingly endless space, though Shion retained her composure the best. The balcony they were on overlooked the lab, and was planted with odd trees whose leaves bore a slight bluish tint to them. Five floating cushions awaited them, while the diminutive doctor of all things scientific already occupied a sixth

Samantha sat on the cushion closest to Washu with confidence, while the others were a little hesitant at first. Washu smirked evilly at the way they all moved around gingerly and decided to have a little fun at their expense. "So, would any of you like anything before we begin? Coffee? Tea? Soft-boiled egg? Suuushi?" She achieved the desired result with Samantha and Ling Ling, who both turned a sickly shade of blue and tried to keep their digested food inside where it belonged.

Shion, Sylvie, and Marta were apparently made of sterner stuff, because they replied at the same time. "Tea, please." Instantly, three cups of hot tea appeared before them and floated there until they grasped them.

Washu let them relax for a moment before continuing. "First off, I've transferred your wealth over to this dimension, but yours" she looked at Shion, "was so considerable, that I had to spread it out over several banks and institutions so as to not upset any balances or attract undue attention." Shion nodded in acquiescence. "I'll give you the vital information in a moment. But first, I'm sure that Samantha has told you about being adopted?" They nodded, but Washu noticed a look of … unease? pass across Shion's face. "Well, the woman who made her that offer wants to extend the same courtesy to all of you. But I'll let her do that herself."

She turned as Seto walked into view from further in the lab. Samantha's jaw dropped in surprise. "Okaa-san! I thought you had left for Jurai already!"

Seto and Washu noticed a flash of irritation make it's way quickly across Shion's face that went unnoticed by everyone else. They were too surprised hearing Samantha call someone "Okaa-san" to notice much else. Seto smiled at Samantha. "I simply went for a quick jaunt around the neighborhood to kill some time while waiting for your family to arrive. But that can wait. I fear we may have upset Shion-san here."

Shion turned her head. "Who, me? Why should I be upset? If Samantha wants to be adopted by a total stranger, it's her business."

Marta, knowing that look, rolled her eyes and groaned softly.

Samantha looked like she had just kicked her own puppy. "Shion… I… I'm sorry. I had no idea you felt that way about me. I've always thought of you as my mother, but you've always treated me as some kind of half-sister, or cousin, or something. I didn't think you'd ever…" Tears began forming in her eyes.

Shion looked at her and immediately regretted it, felling her resolve crumble. "Not to be rude, Samantha, but I didn't. At least, not until you disappeared. It was then I realized how big a part you'd become in my life. Dammit! It wasn't supposed to be like this! I was going to find you and make the offer formally, but then _this_ happens." She paused for a few deep breaths. "When… when you first approached me for permission to use the Nys name, I thought 'What the Hell? As long as it gets rid of her, what does it matter? It's not like that Karin girl2 hadn't already made a right mess of it.' But after a while, I began hearing stories about your jobs. You tried so hard, but never seemed to catch a break. Mission after mission failed, but you kept at it." Shion laughed. "You actually reminded me of myself when I first started out doing solo missions. It took me a while to get the hang of it, too." She looked over at her sister, who stared back at her in astonishment. "Ask Marta. She can tell you what it was like. We lived hand-to-mouth for quite a while."

Marta smiled wistfully at her. Shion continued, "But I had Marta back then. Sure, you have Yohko and Azusa, but they're pretty much useless when it comes to moral support. Sylvie had her own life, and had a pretty full plate from what I've heard. Any time she could spend with you would have to be between juggling her… projects. That pretty much left you alone. Like I am now…" Shion hung her head.

Samantha kneeled at her feet and took her hand in both of hers. "It's alright, Shee. We'll work something out." She looked pleadingly over at Seto, who appeared to consider the matter carefully.

Seto opened her eyes after a moment. "In light of these new circumstances, I have a new proposal. Shion will adopt you Samantha, And I her. Do you find this more acceptable, Shion-san?" Shion didn't look up, but nodded her head.

Overjoyed, Samantha enveloped her mother in a hug. Oh, Shee! It's what I've always wanted! Thank you." Shion seemed to be at a loss for words, so she hesitantly returned the hug.

Seto looked mollified. "That just leaves you three ladies. What do you think?" 

Marta was first to respond as usual. "Well, I guess if Shion is going through with it, I suppose I could as well." Shion looked over at her sister. "Don't want you getting _too_ far ahead of me after all." She turned back to Seto. "But wherever Ling Ling goes, so do I. that's a definite. So it's sorta up to her." She looked over at her lover and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. Seto's eyebrows raised before settling into a smile. 

Ling Ling returned Marta's smile of devotion. "Well, I had given it some serious thought last night when Samantha first mentioned it. But after thinking it over, I'd have to say thanks, but no thanks. I feel like I'm just too old to be adopting a whole new family, and I still care for my old family, so that's their reasons gone for me." She nodded over to Shion, Marta, and Samantha. "However, something else Samantha mentioned last night got me thinking. She said that she would be joining a branch of your intelligence services. Seeing as how I'm currently out of a job, I thought I might apply for a position in that organization. I might need some training as well as some time to get acquainted with the technology and history, but it sounds like a nice, quiet way to earn a living over what I used to have to do. And if there's a way for me to share Marta's last name..." Her grin turned feral as she looked into Marta's eyes.

Sylvie looked over at Seto. "I'm not sure what use you could have for adopting a used up old synth3 like me. Would you mind answering that first, please?"

Seto leaned back a bit on her cushion. "To be perfectly honest, I had initially extended the offer to entice Samantha-chan, but after seeing you I can see that you'd definitely have a place in my intelligence organization along with Li-san, if not my family. Either way you'd be under my protection."

Sylvie gave a small giggle when Seto added "chan" to Samantha's name. "Hmmm… perhaps we could come to a different arrangement if you please? Playing royalty just doesn't sound too appealing to me, no offense. And I _am_ rather good at collecting secrets."

Seto nodded. "That just leaves the matter of Yohko-chan and Azusa-chan. I was going to adopt them myself, but a better idea has occurred to me. Samantha, how would you like to be a mother?" A sly grin crossed her face before she hid it behind her fan.

Samantha was stunned. "I… Me? Their mother? It's… I…"

Shion tapped her on the shoulder with her fist. "Making me a grandmother and I'm not even officially your mother yet? You sure waste no time."

* * *

><p>After a long discussion and some signed paperwork, the women rejoined the rest of the world outside Washu's lab. They were surprised to find that Sasami and Noike were already hard at work making lunch (it being too late for breakfast). They were all surprised to see Seto in their midst again so soon. Sasami gave her a quick hug before rushing off back to the cooking in the kitchen. Noike broke away long enough to talk with Seto, however. "So it's finalized, okaa-san?"<p>

Seto nodded. "Yes, but with a few small alterations. Shion-san will be adopting Samantha-chan, I her as well as Marta-san, and finally, Samantha-chan will be officially adopting Yohko-chan and Azusa-chan."

The young girls in question perked up at this and rushed Samantha. "Is this true onee-chan?" As usual, it was Azusa who spoke for them both.

Samantha grinned at them both. "Yup! That means you'll have to stop with the 'onee-chan' and start calling me okaa-san, now." They wrapped their arms around her in a fierce (for them) hug, and Samantha caught herself thinking, _My God! Mother? What was I thinking? I'm not ready for this!_ But looking down at them so happy, she felt the rightness of it.

Lunch by necessity, and preference considering the queasy stomachs was light. It was decided that the adoptees would leave that night with Seto for Jurai. They spent the rest of the day getting ready for the trip, which because of the lightness of their luggage, consisted mostly of shopping. Shion teleported them rather than waiting for the bus, which would have been a several hour trip both ways. A good time was had by all and everyone got a little of what they wanted. Samantha was especially pleased that Shion had come to accept her a little more. Not as much as she would like, but she knew that it would take time to draw her out of her shell.

That night, they dined on Seto's ship, Mikagami-fune because of space concerns and to save on general wear and tear on Tenchi's house. Aboard the ship, all the native Earthlings were awed at the sight of the ship's interior. Marta looked quizzically at Seto. "What the- I thought we were going to your ship?"

Seto swept her arm out encompassing the wild scenery before them. "This _is_ my ship. The inside of it, at least." She led them along an elevated walkway though the lush foliage overlooking what appeared to be a vast forest complete with wildlife. They could even see a moon in the blue sky at quarter-phase. "You see, with Juraian ships, the living space is all contained within that small disc-shaped component you saw at the center of my ship's exterior called the core unit. Everything else you saw around it is used primarily as a limiter of sorts. It allows the owner to focus the power of the tree for everything from propulsion, to weapon systems, to defensive shields. Of course, there are weapon systems and sensors on the hull itself, but its main purpose is to keep the power of the tree from going out of control, and as a focus and decoration."

They came to another transporter pad that took them to a large table set out in a field of grass near the shade of a large tree on a hilltop. On the table was more food than Samantha had ever seen, most of it recognizable. Seto sat at the head of the table. "Sorry it's not much, but I didn't have time to have a proper feast prepared."

There were no complaints, however. After everyone had stuffed themselves and the sake had been served, they all just sat there talking pleasantly about their new roles awaiting them after the Tree selection ceremony. Yohko and Azusa had snuggled up to Samantha making little mewling sounds of comfort. Shion and Marta were having the most trouble deciding what they were going to do with themselves.

Shion ran a hand through her knee-length run of snow white hair as she considered out loud. "You have to understand that I've never been big on organizational discipline. When you can crush a tank with thought alone, you tend to think of yourself as above most people's orders. Unless your military can give me a lot of leeway, I doubt I'd make a good addition to it. And although I have gone on intelligence gathering missions in the past, it was mostly the "smash and grab" kind of missions. I guess that's the problem when dealing with freelancers: figuring out how best to utilize them."

Marta nodded as she listened to her sister. "It's true. You might even call it a Nys family trait." She playfully stuck out her tongue at Seto. "I imagine that Sammy-chan over there would have the easiest time adjusting, having grown up away from us, and in an arcology."

Making a little moue of annoyance, Samantha gave Marta a small telekinetic flick in back of her head. "I told you not to call me that… auntie." She gave her a shark-like smirk in reply to Marta's glare. "But she is right. I learned to follow orders pretty young. It was part of my… conditioning."

Seto looked over at her newest granddaughter. "Speaking of young, what's this Washu-dono says of you being thirteen?"

Everyone except Washu and Seto gasped at this, Samantha as shocked as anyone else. "Thirteen?" She looked over at Washu. "That can't be right. Are you sure about that, Washu-dono? I was decanted about… lessee… counting the year and a half outside the arcology… six years ago give or take, then add in the eleven years they spent growing me, I figured I was around seventeen."

Washu shook her head. "I'm not sure what they told you, but cellular growth, even accelerated as yours was, doesn't lie. You are," her floating laptop appeared before her, and she punched a few keys. "thirteen years, four months, two days, and sixteen hours old from the point of fertilization, or in your case, first cell division. Of course, you have a body that is biologically around nineteen years old." 

She leaned back and the laptop disappeared. "I have to say, that the people who made you did an excellent job, considering the primitiveness of their tools. I've compared your makeup with that of your mother, Shion-san, and while she constitutes the lion's share of your DNA, there's enough material from other sources, that you're relatively stable. Of course, now that I have another subject to compare and contrast with, I can make you even more stable. As it is, you'll be lucky to have another twenty or thirty years without help from outside normal Earth facilities."

Down the table, Marta slammed her fist down on the table. "Are you serious? Are you really talking about Samantha as if she were some experiment? 'People who made you?' 'Primitive tools?' _'Relatively_ stable?' She may not be a nat4, but that doesn't make her any less human, you know."

Samantha intervened. "Marta, calm down. It's okay. It's not like she's saying anything I haven't heard before. Except for that thirty years to live thing. That's new." She looked thoughtful before continuing. "I know that Washu-dono doesn't mean anything by that. Besides, I grew up with the clinical approach, and it's always better to have the unvarnished truth than sophistry made to make you feel good, but tell you nothing." She nudged the two dozing girls at her sides awake. "I don't know about you, but I'd love a little after dinner flight. How about you mom?"

It took a moment for Shion to realize that she was talking to her. "Hmm? Oh, sure, I guess." Both stunning women stood and walked a short distance away before flying off with a flourish of wind.

Marta watched them go with a pang of envy. "Guess they have a few things to sort out."

Her lover squeezed her hand. "Marta, dear, they have a lot to sort out, and neither one of them equipped for it."

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one, Ling Ling." Marta returned her attention to Seto. "So, _Okaa-san,_ is there room in your little army for a heavily cybered assassin, or what?"

In reply, Seto poorly hid a grin behind her fan.

* * *

><p>Samantha and Shion leisurely flew together in a loose formation. Samantha would occasionally throw her new mother a grin. After a few moments, an enormous white bird with a wingspan to rival a jumbo jet dropped down from the clouds, and flew alongside them. Samantha barrel-rolled around the bird, taking in the sight of the gigantic creature. She saw that aside from the flight feathers, the rest of it's feathers were fine and almost fur-like. As she completed her circuit and came back along Shion, the bird winged over, leaving the women to tumble in it's backwash.<p>

Laughing heartily, Samantha alighted onto a treetop branch, swaying with the momentum. Shion landed similarly on a nearby tree, watching her with a small smile. "I don't think I've ever heard you laugh like that, Samantha," she commented.

Samantha wiped away a tear as she brought herself under control. "To be honest, I've never _been _this happy before, Shee. I've got friends, I've got a real family, and both are safe, happy, and within reach. What more could I want?"

Shion contemplated her daughter on the swaying treetop before her. With the smile still in place, she asked, "A purpose?"

As the swaying slowed down, Samantha seriously considered her words. "Well, knowing your place in the world _is _pretty important too, I suppose. Seto-obaa-sama says she wants me here in Tenchi-dono's house to watch and protect her family here. After I take a few courses at the GP academy, that is."

Shion shook her head, sending waves through her knee-length snow-white hair. "No, I mean a purpose. What you described is simply a job. One that I'm familiar with of course, but in the end, just a job. I want…" She got a faraway look in her eyes. "I want a purpose." After a pause and taking a deep breath, she continued. "When I first became a solo5, my purpose was to protect and provide for my little sister. After she grew up and left me behind, I pretty much kept at it because I was good at it. Well, that and the money. Money was a good incentive. When you've experienced going hungry for more than one or two nights in a row, money takes on a mystical quality, and the more you have, the more you need. But what kept me going was mostly inertia. Even my "Empress" title was just for show. It never really brought meaning to my life."

She smiled and dropped her gaze to the forest floor below. "You want to know a secret? When you called with this fish story of a new dimension, the little girl inside me wanted to leap at the chance for a new life, consequences be damned." She returned her gaze to Samantha. "I had grown bored with my life. I was wealthy enough that I never had to look at a price tag, or ask 'How much?' I was feared throughout the world as one of the two most powerful people ever. I was respected as a top-notch mercenary. I was at the top of my game." She shrugged and looked away. "But it wasn't enough. It all came so easily, that there was little to no challenge anymore. Oh, sure, I could take on Ran6 if I ever felt suicidal, but that wouldn't give me what I was looking for, even if I somehow did win."

After a few moments of staring off into the sunset, she continued. "That's one of the reasons I came up with the crazy notion of adopting you. If I had you to care for, train, and generally look after, I thought I might regain some of that feeling. That's also why I got so upset when I found out that someone had beaten me to the punch." Shion flew off the tree branch, and landed on one adjacent to Samantha. Face-to-face, Samantha found it hard not to look her in the eye and wonder at her beauty. "But you don't need me, Sam. You're a grown woman with your own life just like Marta."

Samantha placed her hand on top of Shion's holding the tree trunk for balance. "You're my mother, Shee. You always have been to me, and you always will be. And if there's one thing a person never outgrows, it is a need for their mother." A smile crept onto her face. "Besides, you heard Washu-dono. You've still got five more years before I'm an adult." Shion chuckled. "And you can bet dollars to donuts that I'll be asking for advice on raising my own two 'little ones'." She gently squeezed Shion's hand. "But if you need help finding a purpose, I'd be more than happy to help you find one, mom. I'm sure that if we ask Seto-obaa-sama, she can help as well. She seems… well connected."

The two women regarded each other in silence a moment longer before they were interrupted by Ryoko teleporting in front of them. "Here you two are! Those of us who are staying on Earth are just leaving, so if you want to say goodbye, you'd better hurry back." She teleported away again before either one could respond.

Samantha looked at Shion. "Well, I guess the moment's over. Let's head back. I for one would like to see them off."

Before she could fly off, Shion grabbed her hand and gave her a fierce hug. When she mumbled "Thank you," it was so quiet, Samantha almost missed it. 

* * *

><p>1 Simex: a portmanteau of Simulated Experience. The victim of a simex memory is implanted with false memories that either alter, create, or replace their true memories. Retrieving the person's true memories is difficult if not impossible when done correctly.<p>

2 No, you haven't missed anything. If you want to know more about Karin Nys, there are a few stories written about her on Michael Surbrook's site. Check in the Kazei 5 PBEM stories section for chapters written by Jamie Jeans.

3 Synth: slang for a synthetic human. A person grown in a tube, cultivated with certain traits, and sold to serve a person in a specific role, in Sylvie's case, a living sex doll.

4 Nat: slang term for a natural born person, as opposed to a clone, or synth.

5 Solo: also known as a street sam, street samurai, or just a sam, slang for a mercenary, especially one that operates alone.

6 THE most powerful psychokinetic on the planet, bar none. Unfortunately, also nuttier than a Payday bar.


	9. Chapter 9: Of Ships and Trees

A/N: Sorry about the footnotes last chapter. Apparently, the site doesn't recognize superscript, and I had already loaded the page before I knew that. I'll try to correct them later.

The usual disclaimers here. AIC/Pioneer/Geneon own Tenchi Muyo and the characters therein. Shion and Marta Nys, Li LingLing, and Sylvie belong to Michael Surbrook (whose stuff is on display at h t t p colon /surbrook dot devermore dot net/index/ Take out the spaces, and replace colon with : and dot with . To see the characters I'm talking about check out the Kazei 5 section). Samantha Nys, Yohko, and Azusa are all mine.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Of Ships and Trees<strong>

* * *

><p>Samantha quietly padded down the walkway, admiring the nighttime scenery. Every now and then, she would chew on her thumbnail, then silently chastised herself for it. There was a niggling anxiety at the back of her mind that just wouldn't go away. Even through all this, she felt Shion coming her way well before she showed up. It's hard for an esper to miss a signature as powerful as hers.<p>

Shion sashayed over to join her at the railing. The cool night breeze rustled their nightgowns as they listened to the buzz of the insects. "So you feel it too?" asked the older woman.

Samantha nodded. "I'm not sure what it is, but it feels like…"

"Like something is waiting for us?" Shion finished.

Samantha clutched at her chest over her heart where the feeling was strongest. "Yeah. I haven't noticed it in anyone else, so I'm guessing it has to do with our powers."

Shion took a breath as if to say something then hesitated. Finally she said, "I… I had an odd dream just now. It's what woke me up. I can't remember the details, but a single figure stood out."

"A blue-haired, giant woman?" Samantha ventured.

A thoughtful look crossed Shion's features. "You know, until you said that just now, I didn't remember any of her features. How did you know?"

Samantha turned to see Shion staring at her with apprehension. "Because I've met her under similar circumstances. When she touched me, it was…"

Shion finished her thought for her again. "Divine?"

The younger woman grinned then looked out at the wilderness again. "You know, either we're more alike than we had thought, or we're developing the power to complete each other's thoughts."

"I wouldn't discount either possibility." Shion replied with a half serious smile.

"At least it doesn't feel malicious." Samantha sighed.

Shion grunted in agreement. "If anything, it's welcoming us. Like…"

Samantha took a turn at completing her mother's thoughts. "…A piece of us seeking to rejoin the whole."

A genuine smile crossed Shion's face as she ruffled Samantha's hair. "That's my girl."

Feeling truly content, Samantha laid her head on Shion's shoulder and gave a sigh of happiness. Hesitating, Shion looked to see if anyone was watching before putting her arm across her daughter's shoulders. The two women felt no less anxious, but more secure knowing that they were there to support each other, no matter what may come.

* * *

><p>Dropping back out of hyperspace, the Earthling's collective breath was caught by the sight of the Juraian fleet in orbit around the planet. They peppered the vista as far as the eye could see, as numerous as the stars themselves. Most of the ships seemed to be built along a singular design, but the one defining factor was that they <em>all<em> appeared to be made of wood. Absurd as it seemed, there was no denying it when one of the ships flew close enough that the passengers felt like they could reach out and touch it, perhaps gaining a splinter for their trouble.

Seto, reclining in her usual seat watched the newcomers with amusement. At her side as usual stood Minaho and Hirata. Hirata discretely leaned over to Minaho and whispered, "So these are the poor saps she sank her claws into? They have no clue what they agreed to, do they?"

Minaho whispered back, "Unfortunately, no. But they will. Some of them appear moderately alert to something going on, but the others…" She finished with a shrug.

Hirata slyly grinned back. "At least Seto-sama still has good taste."

"Why thank you, Hirata-san." Both attendants stiffened at the sound of their mistress' voice behind them. They turned to see her watching the earthlings with undisguised hunger and satisfaction. "I have to say that it was a major coup sweeping those five under my wing and into my debt. Perhaps the younger two will grow into their example under my guidance. Oh ho, ho, ho, ho." Her cackle cut through her attendants like a knife, engendering bemused expressions on their part.

The group of earthlings took no notice of Seto's unnerving laughter. They were too engrossed in watching the sweeping panorama before them. Having never been to space before (except for Shion, but never in a ship this… _lavish_), they were swept up in the majesty of it. Even the normally clingy Yohko and Azusa had their faces plastered to the view screen, excitedly talking away in Japanese too fast for many to follow.

As they approached the planet itself, they noticed a peculiar formation of the land. Azusa pointed at it as she turned to Samantha. "Onee- I mean okaa-san, why is that part of the forest so round? It looks like a perfect circle."

Samantha looked to where she was pointing and shook her head. "I don't know Azusa-chan. Maybe they shaped it like that?"

Seto walked over to see what they were all now looking at. "Ah! I see you've found Tenju-sama."

They all turned to look at her. "Tenju-sama?" they chorused.

She nodded in reply. "Tenju is the seat of Jurai's power. That tree was created by Tsunami, and houses not only her successive generations of trees, but also the royal palace."

The women turned in amazement to look again at the tree. "You're telling me that's a single tree? But it must be kilometers tall!" Marta sputtered.

Seto smiled wickedly. "Indeed. The upper walkway branches must be continually swept clear of snow. It's also where I live, and where you'll be staying until you go off for your education at the academy."

They all stood dumbstruck at the sheer magnitude of the empire they had joined.

* * *

><p>Samantha struggled to put on the ceremonial robes she had been given for the tree selection ceremony. Having never worn a kimono in her life, she was baffled by all the idiosyncrasies needed to don it. She was about to give in and call for help when the door opened to admit Shion and Seto. Shion was resplendent in her robes, and wore them as if born to them. She quickly crossed over to the struggling Samantha and undid the front exposing the <em>juban<em>(1)she wore underneath. "I know this is new to you, but never, _ever_ wear a kimono with the right side on top of the left. That's for corpses being dressed for funerals, and bad luck for the living."

Samantha blushed at her attentions. "Sorry. I've never worn one of these before."

"Well, just remember this in future." Shion finished dressing her daughter, and helped her put on the over mantle.

Seto watched the two with some envy. _How long has it been since I had to do that for one of my daughters?_ She shook her head free of the reverie, but couldn't help wonder why she felt like these two had to go before the others. It wasn't often that she got these feelings, and each time she ended up being glad she followed her instincts. Perhaps that was why she felt as nervous as she did. But no matter how much she reassured herself, she couldn't free herself of the feeling that for good or ill, something momentous was about to happen today.

Now fully dressed, Samantha turned around for her family. "Well, how do I look?"

"You look great, kiddo." Shion replied.

Seto walked around her for a moment before deciding. Taking a comb from her pocket, she arranged Samantha's hair into a high riding ponytail before jabbing the comb in front to secure it. "There. Perfect."

Shion looked with an appraising eye, and nodded. "I agree. Much better." Samantha blushed at their compliments.

Seto lead the two women out to the arboretum where they were met by Misaki and Funaho. Samantha and Shion bowed to them, and they bowed in return, but as Misaki straightened, she had a huge grin on her face. It was easy to tell that she was trying her hardest to restrain herself from hugging them. Samantha couldn't wait to see Shion's reaction to Misaki's effervescence.

They walked inside, seeing for the first time the many trees on their floating platforms in what appeared to be a huge bole in the most enormous tree ever. As they walked past, each tree would glow and shoot beams of harmless, multicolored light throughout the room. It was like being greeted by an honor guard on their way to meet the queen. Which in a way, they were.

Misaki and Funaho looked confused, then concerned as they proceeded without pausing at any trees. When Samantha and Shion stepped onto the teleporter pad leading to the section housing the most unusual trees, they looked to Seto in concern, but she kept her gaze firmly ahead, not looking at either of them. When they stepped through the pad themselves, they were greeted by the sight of Samantha and Shion standing before two of the larger second generation trees. The trees weren't twins, but sisters from the same parents, and were unusually thick in the trunk, resembling baobob trees(2) from Earth.

Samantha/Shion stood before the part of them that had been missing, but they had never known. The piece of their soul that reached out to them across the light years to comfort them in their dreams. Each felt a connection with the other. Samantha with Shion, Samantha with her tree, Shion with her tree, the two trees together, they created a quadratic form making one being greater than the sum of it's parts. A doorway of light opened before the Samantha/Shion half, inviting them in with a warmth rivaling that of the mother she both had and never had until recently. Instantly, she knew what it was to love both as a mother and as a daughter, and the intrinsic link between parent and child.

Seto, Misaki, and Funaho gasped as the trees _opened _their trunks by parting along a seam, emitting a furious golden glow from within. As if in a trance, Samantha and Shion walked into the openings, leaving the other three women to gasp behind them. The trees sealed up behind them, leaving no evidence of any opening.

Seto calmly turned around and started back for the teleporter pad. After a stunned moment of silence Misaki and Funaho ran after her. "Okaa-san! What happened to Samantha-chan and Shion-chan?" Misaki blurted out.

Seto turned around and put her hand on Misaki's cheek in a gesture of comfort. "They'll be out in a few days. Washu-dono explained to me that their powers make them physiologically incompatible with normal body enhancement. The trees are doing this for them instead," she explained. "It's rare yes, but has been done in the past. It also creates an especially strong bond between the person and the tree, essentially making them one being." She turned around and resumed walking to the teleporter pad. "Now let's get the others partnered with their trees, so that they can be ready for them when they get out again."

Misaki cast a final, worried glance back at the trees before joining Seto on the pad. Funaho glanced up to the gallery, and saw her husband Azusa as well as Seto's husband Utsutsumi watching the proceedings with interest. A silent look passed between them before Funaho stepped onto the teleporter herself, returning to the arboretum entrance.

* * *

><p>Drowsily, Samantha stirred within the womb. The gentle voice in her head prodded at her consciousness again with a wordless feeling of amusement. She opened her eyes to see Yohko and Azusa kneeling before her, concern evident on their faces. Samantha reached out and patted them on the cheeks. "I'm awake, girls." It was then that she noticed that they wore their Juraian robes, and wondered when they came in to the arboretum. Then she noticed the honey-like substance covering her. It was clear and sticky like honey, and just as sweet, though with a different, woody taste.<p>

As she rose to stand, Samantha noticed Shion not five feet away covered in the same substance, and resembling a honey nymph(3) of legend. Looking over at Seto, she asked, "Seto-obaa-sama? What happened?"

Seto smiled at her as Yohko and Azusa helped Samantha to her feet. "You and Shion-chan underwent a bonding with your trees that few of us are lucky enough to experience. I suspect that it has to do with your minds being more open to psychic emanations. But there's time for examinations and tests later. For now, you have lots of things to do." Seto began counting off on her fingers as she listed all the work that lie ahead. "There's paperwork to fill out, training to start, paperwork to fill out, you have to at least give a preliminary sketch to the ship carvers so that they can begin on your ship's hull, paperwork to fill out, you have to pick out a name for your ship, oh, and paperwork to fill out."

Samantha quirked an eyebrow at her new grandmother, "You said paperwork several times. That does not bode well."

"Oh my, yes. I sometimes wonder how many jobs in the empire are reliant on creating and processing forms alone." Seto looked over her shoulder at Funaho asking, "Funaho-chan, how many jobs are reliant on paperwork?"

Funaho shrugged her shoulders. "Tens of millions at least, okaa-san."

Seto looked back at Samantha. "There, you see? We can't just put those poor people out of jobs, now can we?" Samantha just shook her head in wonderment.

* * *

><p>It turned out that Seto wasn't kidding about the paperwork. Granted, it wasn't actually on paper (it would have taken a small forest to provide the paper necessary for everything Samantha had to sign for), but it was enough to keep her occupied for the better part of a week. It wouldn't have been so bad were it not for the fact that she was now officially and legally Yohko and Azusa's guardian. Shion was done within hours, just signing anything put in front of her. She trusted that nobody would have the temerity to try to pull a fast one on <span>her<span>. Ling Ling took care of her own paperwork as well as Marta's, but since she was fluent in legalese, it took her just a few days. Sylvie was done almost as fast, and they offered to help Samantha with hers. However, Samantha's insistence on a thorough read-through of the documents meant a severe slow-down in progress since some terms had to be looked up or asked about..

But she signed the transparent document board with a flourish before throwing it down on the desk and stretching luxuriantly. She turned her chair to face out the window of the office in her new home on Jurai, and marveled at the turn of events her life had taken. Her salary for being in Seto's intelligence service now made her far wealthier than she ever imagined she would- no, could ever attain on Earth. Indeed, the entire apartment in which she had lived in the zero zone could have easily fit into this one room. The fireplace was nearly as big as the kitchen, and the desk as big as her bed.

The final design on Iyoku-fune(4), her ship was drawn up this morning and approved. Samantha smiled as she remember the sleek curing lines, vaguely reminiscent of a sailboat. The fleet little ship wasn't very big, so it couldn't mount a large amount of gunnery turrets, but she believed that the vessel's speed will more than compensate for that. Samantha decided that she had spent more than enough time indoors lately, and picked up the partially carved block of wood and petrified tree sap that she had received from her tree in order to construct her key on her way out to the veranda.

There, she found not only the rocking chair she had claimed as her own, but also Yohko and Azusa. As usual, they were sitting quietly side-by side on the steps with their heads resting together and talking. It seemed to be their default setting whenever they were left to their own devices. They were adorable in their Juraian robes, and their keys in the shape of rings that were designed to fit together when they held hands (which they often did), nicely set off the ensemble. They turned as they heard her approach, and both their faces lit up as if seeing the sun rise for the first time."Kaa-san!" they shouted in unison as they ran to her. "Are you done for the day?"

"For the day, and for good. Just in time too. That leaves us two more days until we have to leave for the academy." She groaned a bit as she sat down in the rocker and started to carve the block of wood with an invisible telekinetic knife. A gentle breeze flitted across the yard, causing waves in the tall grass and scattering the shavings from her work. Without looking up, she asked, "So what do you two want to do tomorrow? We're free for the whole day."

Without hesitation they chorused together, "Visit Misaki-oba-chan!"

Samantha smiled and nodded. The two had taken an immediate liking to the bubbly woman, and she to them. Really, they were a perfect match. They loved being doted on, and she loved to dote. She was tempted to make her their godmother, but decided against it. It might create problems with succession and might possibly offend Shion, and that was the last thing she wanted to do now that she had finally accepted her. "I think we can manage that." She checked her watch at a sudden thought. "Hmm, Sylvie should be here any time now."

As if on cue, Sylvie walked through the same door Samantha had just used. "Afternoon, Sam. I hope you don't mind that I just let myself in?" she asked.

Samantha looked up, and almost sliced off a finger with her telekinetic knife. Sylvie looked absolutely radiant in her form-fitting academy uniform. A faint blush bloomed on the esper's cheeks as she replied, "O- of course not. You're always welcome in my home at any time. Mi casa es su casa."

Sylvie hugged Yohko and Azusa, then took the rocking chair next to her friend. "Aaahhh... such a beautiful day. It's good to see you enjoying it instead of cooping yourself up in the house."

Samantha just smiled and shrugged. "I just finished the last of the paperwork not ten minutes ago."

Sylvie laughed. "That's good, because if I had found you in that office today, I was going to bend you over my knee, and spank you before sending you outside." She was looking out at the juraian equivalent of butterflies play across the open field, so she missed Samantha's blush turning her whole face red.

It was a moment before Samantha found her voice. "Ahem. Yes, well, spankings notwithstanding, I _am_ glad you're here. Seto-obaa-san invited the girls and I over to dinner tonight, and I was hoping you'd like to join us."

"Hoping I'd act as your buffer to her pointed questions you mean, don't you?" Sylvie turned to see that she had scored a bulls-eye.

Samantha gave a nervous laugh, saying, "You know me too well, Sylvie."

Sylvie turned her attention back to the field where Yohko and Azusa were playing tag around a tall oak-like tree. "you know she only does this out of concern. Well, concern, and the need to meddle in her "children's" lives, anyway." Sylvie grinned at a thought. "She seems to have taken it as a personal challenge in your case."

Samantha threw a confused glance her way. "And why, praytell, would it be personal in my case?"

Sylvie continued to grin at Samantha as she explained, "I've been talking with Seto-sama, and there's one thing we agree on when it comes to relationships. Successful ones come in two... flavors if you will. The first is where one partner has some sort of advantage over the other, and uses this to keep them on a tight rein. What's important in this kind of relationship is that the weaker member is aware of and submits to this. Needless to say, few of these relationships last for long, since either the dominant one grows bored or seeks even more control over time, or the submissive begins to chafe under the other's domination because they outgrow the need to be controlled. That's not to say that these kinds of relationships always fall apart. Some people are quite content to be told where their place is, just as some people take glee in telling them their place."

"I hope you two haven't lumped me into that category," Samantha asked with a wry grin.

Sylvie shook her head. "Of course not. You're far to independent to want to be controlled. And obviously you don't want the responsibility that goes with controlling an adult. You already have your hands full with the girls as it is. No, you definitely fall into the larger category that wants an equal. A true partner for life." Samantha squirmed in her seat a bit, but remained silent, not trusting her voice. "The problem would be in finding you an available and compatible equal. Just a heads-up: I think that's probably what Seto-sama wants to talk to you about tonight."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Great. Just great."

* * *

><p>Seto waited patiently while Samantha compiled her thoughts and nerve to broach whatever she obviously wanted to talk about. Sylvie had already taken Yohko and Azusa to see Misaki, and would be gone for at least a few hours. Plenty of time for Samantha to get whatever it was off her chest. They sat quietly for several minutes just sipping tea, when Samantha broke the silence with a question. "I understand you wanted to discuss my ah... relationship status, obaa-sama?"<p>

The elder woman almost quirked an eyebrow at this tack. She was almost certain that after such an extended silence that the young esper would work her way up to this subject slowly. _It appears I'll have to change my assessment of her already._ Far from upset, Seto was delighted to have been blindsided. It so rarely happened these days. The green-haired woman set down her cup and said, "Yes actually, I did. I have a few choices for you to look over, so I can get a feel for what you look for in a partner. However, it appears you have something to say?"

Samantha smiled at how Seto turned the tables on her again, and so continued, "Indeed. You see, there's... oh, how do I put this? There's someone I'm interested in, but I'm not sure about what it is I'm actually feeling."

Seto nodded. "I thought it was something like this. Let me guess. This person is someone you know very well, but you aren't sure if what you're feeling is truly love, or misplaced affection." Samantha nodded without raising her gaze to meet Seto's. "To make matters worse, this person has no idea about this situation, correct?" Again, Samantha just nodded dumbly. "Samantha, there are just some things one needs to work out for oneself. How exactly you feel about this person is something that only you can work out." Seto laid her hand on Samantha's shoulder. "And incidentally, if loving this person isn't acceptable by your society's rules, or consistent with the way you were brought up, then only you can decide if going through with it is worthwhile."

Samantha looked up with a start. _She knows!_

"Also incidentally, I think you'll find the galaxy at large, and Jurai in particular to be rather lenient in... non-traditional relationships." Samantha just gave her a shy, but grateful smile.

* * *

><p>(1) Juban: a simple robe worn under the outer kimono. It could be likened to underwear for a kimono.<p>

(2) Baobob Tree: A tree common to southern Africa and Madagascar, with a thick trunk resembling several trees growing together.

(3) Honey Nymph: Also called Meliae, the nymphs who nursed Zeus as an infant.

(4) Iyoku-fune: Samantha's name for her ship. Iyoku = Will, Fune = Ship. The tree the ship is built around is named Iyoku-ki. Ki = Tree.


End file.
